Route through CBD

[Magenta]

I normally commute along the Coro Drive bikeway to South Brisbane,
which is fairly safe and straightforward. A change in my job means
that I will now have to commute to Astor Terrace at Spring Hill. Can
anyone offer me suggestions of a safe way to travel from St Lucia to
Spring Hill? I don't want to have to dodge buses in Adelaide Street -
am a bit old for that.

[Doc]

I don't know the answer to your question, but I may have a part of the
answer.

I don't especially like to ride in city traffic, so I tend to alley-
cat my way around town to dodge the busy parts. If you are not totally
consumed by the 'culture of speed' then the long-way-round can be
quite pleasant. Unfortunately Astor Terrace is surrounded by busy
roads and there is little opportunity for dodging them, however, you
can cycle to within a few hundred yards of Astor Terrace quietly and
safely.

- From the south bank of the river, get onto the Kurilpa Bridge (it
looks like it has sailing ship rigging on it) in front of the Gallery
of Modern Art
- Over the Kurilpa Bridge on the north side of the river the path
turns into an Amsterdam Lane for bicycles next to Tank Street.
- At the end of Tank Street, turn right into George Street. It's a T-
intersection so it will be unmissable
- There will be no problem turning right into George Street there as
the pedestrian crossing has a little green bicycle next to the little
green man
- Ride up the Amsterdam Lane along George Street for a hundred yards
or so until you get to the Turbot Street intersection
- The Turbot Street intersection also has a little green bicycle at
the pedestrian crossing
- Turn left at the Turbot Street intersection and go down the one-way
green bicycle lane on the right hand side of the road next to Turbot
Street
- At the end of the lane, you will be underneath the Turbot Street
overpass in front King George Square Cycle Centre
- Cross the road to the footpath in front of the Cycle Centre (it's
Roma Street there and I think there is a little green bicycle at the
crossing too)
- Turn right onto the footpath and ride the thirty yards or so up the
footpath to Ann Street (across the road from King George Square)
- Turn left in front of the Albert Street Uniting Church - the pretty
little Cathedral looking one
- There is a short bit of cobbled road with no traffic in front of the
Church (it's where they deliver wedding parties I guess)
- This little bit of road will bring you to the intersection of Turbot
Street (and the upper part of Albert Street)

I am out of ideas to stay out of the traffic at this point, but you
are just over the hill from Astor Terrace now. You could walk your
cycle up the footpath from here as it is only about a 10-minute walk
(about 400-yards). In any case, it's not against the law to ride up
the footpath there, and it is not especially busy if you cross to the
Dental Hospital side (but still probably mildly annoying for any
pedestrians).

Anyway from The Albert Street Uniting Church, turn right along Turbot
Street, then left into upper Edward Street, across Wickham Terrace and
right into Astor Terrace.

Going home, get yourself back to the end of Roma Street (across the
road from King George Square and City Hall) where there is a bicycle
lane along Roma Street (outbound)

- Ride under the Turbot Street overpass and continue along Roma Street
- Turn left into Herschel Street and (after about thirty downhill
yards of no bicycle lane) left again into the Amsterdam Lane in George
Street
- Continue down the Amsterdam Lane in George Street to the bicycle
crossing at Tank Street (where you rode on the way to work)
- Turn right into Tank Street, back across the Kurilpa Bridge and home

Alternatives would be to park your bicycle at the King George Square
Cycle Centre and enjoy the facilities there before a short walk to
Astor Terrace, or to ride through the Roma Street Parklands, then
right onto the Wickham Terrace footpath, left into upper Edward Street
and right into Astor Terrace. The entrance to the Parklands is next to
the Transit Centre on the city side. I turn right off Roma Street into
the Parklands on my way home and it is not always convenient to do so
because of the traffic. There is a pedestrian-bicycle crossing at the
lights if you find the traffic too busy. The Roma Street Parklands is
a nice quiet ride but there are some hills - happily though, every
hill has a downside.

Also, please be kind to old cyclists going through the Roma Street
parklands as one of them might be me on the way home :)

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[Magenta]

Thanks very much for that detailed description - it puts cycling to
Astor Terrace back in the picture for me. I will have to get the map
and go through your suggestions in detail, though I think I know most
of the streets that you describe. Thank you once again, and Happy New
Year.

[Ian Lister]

Hi,

Apologies for such a slow reply - hopefully you've already got a good
route sorted out by now, but I'll chime in with my 2c anyway, not that
I'm sure it would be all that useful.

I used to work on Astor Tce and come in on the Bicentennial too. On the
way in I would always use Adelaide St up to Creek St, connecting on to
Wharf St, and back on Astor Tce, but it was all pretty traffic-heavy -
dodging buses on Adelaide St was probably the easier part. A circuitous
alternative might be to go up Albert St or Parkland Boulevard/Crescent
(through Roma St Parklands), then back down Wickham Tce or Leichardt St,
but I suspect that wouldn't be any better. Perhaps all the way around
through the botanic gardens and along the City Reach Boardwalk to Wharf
St, then up that, on the footpath if desired?

Unless I was in a rush on the way home I used to go the whole way down
Edward St and through the gardens. It added one or two kilometres to my
trip (compared to Adelaide St) but it was so much easier and more pleasant
that it was worth it. That's certainly saying something, because it was at
the height of my youthful imprudence, but even Edward St is not very
pleasant. Again, perhaps Wharf St down to the river would be OK?

Did you end up finding a better route already?

Cheers,

Ian