Stanley Street had the slowest average speed of 10 roads analysed by Brisbane Times in partnership with location data company HERE Technologies At 8am on weekdays, the average speed along Stanley Street from The Gabba to Lady Cilento in 2017 was 21km/h. On weekdays between 7am and 10am and between 3pm and 6pm the average speed was within the 20km/h range. The average speed on weekends was within the 30km/h range at all times of the day. At 8am on weekdays the average speed along Stanley Street from The Gabba to Lady Cilento in 2017 was 21km/h. Credit:Ruth McCosker

The Brisbane City Council Greater Brisbane Key Corridors Performance Report calculated speeds on Stanley Street from the intersection of Old Cleveland and Cavendish roads to the Grey and Vulture streets intersection between 7am and 9am, and 4pm and 7pm. Brisbane Times analysis of monthly findings from May 2015 to May 2018 revealed speeds were slower in the AM than in the PM. The slowest average speeds were in February, with 13.4km/h recorded in the AM peak in February 2016, 13.5km/h in the AM peak in February 2018 and 13.8km/h in February 2017. The fastest speed in peak hour was the PM peak in August 2016 when the speed was about 30.9km/h.

Both the HERE data and the council report reveal that the corridor is consistently running significantly under the speed limit. Mr Feller said the area was congested because it connected so many points in the city. “Stanley Street has all the access to the expressway on ramp and off ramps to the City and Gold Coast; it’s an access road to South Brisbane and West End, Ipswich, Annerley — it all comes together and it’s a one-way street,” he said. “It is one of the ugliest corners.” Mr Feller said there should be a separate lane for motorbikes.

“One car is like five motorbikes,” he said. Mr Feller said the only positive about the traffic crawling down Stanley Street was that it gave motorists time to stop to look out the window at the shops. “When the traffic slows, it’s advertising for us,” he said. Amanda Cooper said the council was preserving land for a future corridor upgrade along Stanley Street Credit:Brisbane City Council The council’s infrastructure chairman Amanda Cooper said the council had spent close to $200,000 in the past year on a congestion-busting project for Stanley Street that included a new left-turn lane onto Wellington Street which was designed to stop queuing and delays to through-traffic.

“Council is preserving land for a future corridor upgrade along Stanley Street and in the short-term will continue to identify congestion-busting projects that will maximise the efficiency of the existing network,” she said. Cr Cooper refuted claims that average speeds did not exceed 40km/h and said the council data, which was collected by Bluetooth receivers, showed the average speed exceeded 50km/h an hour. HERE Technologies traffic product manager Ben Wilson said the council and HERE Technologies had different data collection methods, which resulted in different average traffic speed data. “HERE uses satellite technology to understand the average speed of a vehicle at a specific point in time and for a specific section of road,” he said.

RACQ head of public policy Rebecca Michael said Stanley Street was one of the busiest routes for southside commuters. “Unfortunately, RACQ’s latest Travel Time data shows traffic only travels about 18km/h, on average, during the morning peak,” Dr Michael said. “Stanley Street is quite a constrained corridor but upgrades to the road, public transport access, footpaths and bike lanes will be needed to match the traffic demand. “Stopping at intersections along the corridor interrupts traffic flow, so average speeds under 60km/h would be expected.” Bicycle Queensland chief executive Anne Savage said more than 45,000 vehicles used Stanley Street every day and safe, separated cycleways for bike riders was the key to unlocking congestion.

“The good news is, work is now underway to deliver the $11 million Woolloongabba Bikeway Project as part of Brisbane City Council’s Better Bikeways 4 Brisbane program,” she said. “There can be no doubt that new bikeways along corridors such as Stanley Street will continue to improve travel times for all road users. “A Bicycle Queensland comparison of journey times from the start of the V1 at Holland Park West to QUT Gardens Point found a bike to be the quickest form of transport, at about 17 minutes compared to 24 minutes in a car and 28 minutes on a bus.” Rail Back on Track's Robert Dow said the congestion on Stanley Street was a “major problem”. “We do have a problem with public transport as an alternative [to private vehicles],” he said.