The operation, which involved officers from Hendra, Boondall and Stafford Stations alongside North Brisbane Highway Patrol, conducted 707 Random Breath Tests (RBT) and Random Drug Tests (RDT).
Blood alcohol readings among the offenders ranged from 0.053 to 0.143.
The operation also resulted in one drug driving detection. A separate driver was charged with possession of dangerous drugs, failing to properly dispose of needle and syringe, and possession of tainted property. Another motorist was charged with obstructing police.
Officers issued five additional infringement notices for offences including unlicensed driving and unregistered vehicles.
Police have advised that traffic operations and patrols will increase in the North Brisbane area as year 12 students finish school and holiday periods approach.
The Queensland Police Service continues its efforts to reduce road fatalities by targeting the ‘Fatal Five’: speeding, drink and drug driving, not wearing seatbelts, fatigue, and distraction.
A development application has been submitted for a new health care services building along Gympie Road, Chermside, which aims to introduce a multi-functional facility to the area.
Designed by the architectural firm NettletonTribe, the proposal envisions a nine-storey structure that would accommodate a variety of services, including health care, food and drink outlets, office spaces, and retail shops.
Photo credit: NettletonTribe
The proposed development at 766 Gympie Road, Chermside would feature a total gross floor area of 12,384 square metres, with health care services planned for levels three to nine. The ground floor is set to include a cafe of 121 sqm, and a retail space of 800 sqm, potentially enhancing local amenities for both residents and visitors.
Site map (Photo credit: Metro Map)
In terms of parking, the design includes provisions for 282 car parking spaces—144 on the first two levels and 138 in the basement—as well as six motorcycle parking spots on Level 2. Access to the site would be available via Latham Street, which would include a designated drop-off area for convenience. Additionally, two pedestrian access points on Gympie Road are proposed to facilitate foot traffic.
The project entails the partial demolition of some structures in the northern section of the site, while preserving the building located to the south. The existing car park would also undergo modifications to better support the new development and improve accessibility for future users.
Photo credit: NettletonTribe
Planners have emphasised that the design incorporates a central access corridor that connects with the southern part of the site, where an office building is expected to remain operational. Landscaping elements will be introduced at the building’s frontage, aimed at enhancing the streetscape and providing shading, while framing the entrances to the new facility.
While this development application is still under consideration, it represents a significant potential investment in the Chermside area, with the possibility of improving local health services and providing new amenities for the community. As the proposal moves through the approval process, stakeholders and residents will be monitoring its progress closely.
A development application seeking to establish a nine-storey health, retail and office building in Chermside is currently being assessed. The proposed healthcare-focused development is projected to create a range of employment and activation opportunities.
L&A Maccheron Property lodged the application last November 2022 proposing a healthcare-focused development that will house a medical centre/specialist consulting suites, commercial office and ground floor active retail at 690-706 Gympie Road, 11-15 Wallace Street and 10 Norman Drive, Chermside.
“The development is of a scale and form that provides a positive contribution to the streetscape and is consistent with the planning intent for development within the Chermside locality. The proposed development presents high quality building design features modulation of the building form, material variation, landscaping at ground, podium and tower levels and balconies oriented to Gympie Road.” – Mewing Planning Consultants
Photo credit: Brisbane City Council / developmenti.brisbane.qld.gov.au
The subject site sits just a few hundred metres away from Westfield Chermside and is expected to complement the nearby medical services providers, particularly Prince Charles Hospital, St Vincent’s Private Hospital and Brisbane North Eye Centre.
Photo credit: Brisbane City Council / developmenti.brisbane.qld.gov.au
The proposed development will consist of a podium and tower form with an overall height of 9 storeys within the Gympie Road sub-precinct and 5 storeys within the Mixed-Use sub-precinct. Likewise, a podium height of 4 storeys is proposed within the Gympie Road sub-precinct and 3 storeys within the Mixed Use sub-precinct.
It includes ground-level activation with health care and retail spaces along with outdoor dining and landscaping oriented to Gympie Road. There is also a mix of healthcare facilities at levels 4 and 5 and offices at levels 7 and 8. For the purpose of emergency fire egress from the proposed development, the plans also include an access easement over 10 Norman Drive.
Photo credit: Brisbane City Council / developmenti.brisbane.qld.gov.au
A total of 182 car parking spaces plus 20 motorbike spaces will be provided. The car park design includes ambulance and van bays with provision for on-site servicing (with all vehicle manoeuvres to be undertaken on-site).
All access including car parking and servicing is obtained from Wallace Street.
Photo credit: Brisbane City Council / developmenti.brisbane.qld.gov.au
Commuters on Gympie Road from Chermside to Kedron are expected to experience months of disruption as improvements to the safety and capacity of the Northern Transitway start.
The Department of Transport and Main Roads (TMR) confirmed in a community update released in April 2021 that those main construction activities on the Northern Transitway will take place from May 2021 to early 2023. Most of the construction will be conducted at night, from 7:00 p.m. to 7:00 a.m.
Once completed, the project is expected to deliver the following outcome:
A dedicated bus lane for buses, both inbound and outbound, along Gympie Road between Kedron and Chermside benefiting over 5,000 people during peak periods each weekday.
Travel time savings of up to 6 minutes on some services during peak periods.
Higher frequency of services at bus stops within the project corridor, increasing from every 15 minutes to every 5 minutes or better during peak periods.
More local residents with greater access to high frequency bus services.
Bus stops that are accessible and compliant with disability access requirements.
Improved pathways along the alignment for cyclists and pedestrians.
Removal of unsignalised right-turn movements within the project corridor to improve the safety for all road users.
A new set of traffic signals at the intersection of Gympie Road and Boothby Street, including dedicated right-turn lane and U-turn facility, to provide safe access for locals and businesses.
However, local business owners, have opposed the project since the announcement as the loss of on-street parking will impact trading. They are calling on the State Government to monitor the traffic movement as this development might need additional options and work.
“We held a series of community information sessions last year and received 185 pieces of individual feedback on the proposed Northern Transitway plan,” Transport and Main Roads Minister Mark Bailey said during the project’s announcement in early 2020. “The main issues raised by the community were the removal of the bus stops and on-street parking.
“The changes mean commuters will still enjoy quicker travel during the high demand peak periods, while Gympie Road businesses will keep on-street parking for their customers for large parts of the day and all day on weekends.”
Photo Credit: Department of Transport and Main Roads
With work now in progress, TMR issued a statement saying that the project team “will continue to update the community about the Northern Transitway project via distributing notifications to residents, businesses and the community along the project alignment, via email, and updating the web page.”
For concerns, the public is encouraged to contact the project team at northerntransitway@tmr.qld.gov.au or phone 1800 328 972 during business hours.
Motorists driving down Gympie Road beware! The said road that runs through Chermside, Aspley, and Kedron ranks as the top car crash hot spot, latest insurance claims data revealed.
RACQ revealed the list of 20 most accident-prone areas based on insurance claims data from 1 January 2015 – 31 October 2018. Many are not surprised with the list, RACQ spokesperson Kirsty Clinton said.
“Unfortunately, the top 20 list is made up of a lot of the usual suspects. Gympie Road took out the top three spots, with Mains Road at Sunnybank and Logan Road at Eight Mile Plains rounding out the top five,” Ms Clinton said.
“These roads are typically heavily congested, high volume, multi-lane roads with many intersections and locations for interactions between multiple vehicles,” Ms Clinton said.
“A large portion of the crashes will be rear-end crashes which happen during congestion and at traffic lights and sideswipes and crashes where drivers have failed to give way properly.”
“As always when behind the wheel, but even more so on busy roads, drivers need to avoid distraction, obey traffic signals, give way correctly, travel at a safe following distance and carefully check blind spots and indicate when merging or change lanes,” Ms Clinton concluded.
AAMI, an insurance company, recently released their Crash Index for 2017. Bad news for Chermside residents. Gympie Road still ranks high in Brisbane’s top five worst accident hotspots, ranking in the third spot, following Ipswich Road in Annerley and Mains Road in Sunnybank, which claimed the first and second spots.
Traffic Bottleneck on Gympie Road
Photo credit: Wikimedia Commons
Gympie Road claim to notoriety has been its consistent inclusion in Brisbane’s worst crash hotspots. In fact, it was Brisbane’s worst accident hotspot in 2015. Although now down to third place, Gympie Road clearly remains to be a problem, mostly due to the heavy volume of traffic that passes this major artery.
Photo credit: QLD Traffic
As a major road in the northern suburbs of Brisbane, Gympie Road caters to a lot of vehicles travelling between the CBD and the northern suburbs, including the Sunshine Coast. Just this month, Snarl Live Brisbane Traffic Updates recorded multi-vehicular crashes along the Gympie Road. Throughout the year, these multiple crashes often result to multiple fatalities.
Artist’s impression of a multi-transit Gympie Road. (Photo credit: Brisbane Development)
According to the study conducted by Brisbane Development, Chermside has seen urban densification that attracted people to move in the suburb and propose new dwellings within the Chermside-Kedron area along the Gympie Road. This urbanisation and densification has led to constant gridlocks covering large sections of the road.
Brisbane Development has said that road widening and remarking bus lanes would not address the issue, but a shift of mode of transport can. Deputy Mayor Adrian Schrinner mentioned that the Brisbane Metro will be expanded to Chermside, and that this should reconfigure Gympie Road from a car-centric road to a multi-transit road, hopefully reducing congestion and the incidence of multiple crashes.
Photo credit: Chermside District
This proposal is not new. In fact, Gympie Road has a dedicated Chermside Line with tramcars running down the road in the 1950s. The line is in between two lanes of traffic with enough space to accommodate vehicles and even rose gardens.
Main Causes of Road Crashes
Photo credit: Free Stock Photos
Aside from the traffic bottleneck on the Gympie Road, the AAMI Crash Index reveals that 45% of motorists believe that distractions, such as mobile phones, are the common cause of crashes. Despite the dangers of “texting while driving”, a significant number of motorists are still taking the risk. AAMI study shows that 3% of Queenslanders text while driving and 47% engage in conversation with a hands-free kit.
“Concentration is key, especially when travelling in heavy traffic. It’s important to leave enough room between you and the car in front, keep to the speed limit and avoid distractions like mobile phones … Even when used legally, mobile phones can be very distracting for drivers – particularly phone calls. We would urge drivers to limit their use of phones while they’re driving and only operate them when it is absolutely safe to do so,” AAMI Spokesperson Michael Mills said.
Overspeeding and tailgating are also common causes of road crashes. Motorists should be mindful of safe driving behaviour when travelling Gympie Road and any other road. For travellers on Gympie Road, it’s best to be safe, than sorry.
