Brisbane plans one-way traffic and 40 km/h zone for dangerous Toowong stretch
City Council is planning one-way traffic and a 40 km/h speed limit on Sylvan Road in Toowong, one of the city’s most hazardous roads. Brisbane — full details…
Brisbane City Council is planning one-way traffic and a 40 km/h speed limit on Sylvan Road in Toowong, one of the city’s most hazardous roads for cyclists. The move comes with a new two-way bike path and upgraded footpaths for the 1.2-kilometre corridor linking two major bikeway networks.
The road sits between the Bicentennial bikeway and the Western Freeway bikeway, and has been identified as Queensland’s most unsafe place to ride. For now, cyclists still have to thread past busy traffic, narrow gaps beside parked or double-parked cars and slip lanes. It is tight. It is risky.
Preferred design after community input
The council will unveil its preferred design on Wednesday after consultation in June on two bikeway options. Officials said the feedback strengthened support for a separated route, with safer crossings and clearer physical separation from cars emerging as the main priorities.
One option put forward in May showed a continuous bidirectional bikeway that would connect with the shared path on Milton Road. The preferred plan now points to a dedicated two-way bikeway separated from traffic, alongside better footpaths on the street.
Why the link matters
Once finished, the missing link should allow riders to travel from Darra to the Brisbane CBD entirely on protected infrastructure. That would remove one of the last exposed stretches on a popular cross-city route and make the trip safer for everyday riders as well as commuters.
Road safety upgrades of this kind have become a familiar answer in cities far beyond Australia. Local governments from Canada to India have been wrestling with the same pressures: squeezed roads, faster traffic and growing demand for space for bikes and pedestrians. In Toowong, the fix now centres on slowing cars down and separating people from them.
The council’s plan also reflects a broader shift in urban street design, where lower speed limits and one-way traffic patterns are often paired with protected cycling lanes to reduce conflict points. On Sylvan Road, the old arrangement has left riders exposed. The new one is meant to do the opposite.
Brisbane City Council said the consultation helped confirm the preferred layout. Safer crossings and stronger separation from traffic, it said, were what residents wanted most. The next step is the formal release of the design, with Sylvan Road between Bates Lane among the sections set for change.
