History
Coronation Drive started out as a rough track that developed along the river during the 1840s. It was initially called Moggill Road (because it was the road to Moggill), then later (1870s) it became known as the River Road. In 1937 the River Road was renamed Coronation Drive in honour of the coronation of King George VI, a suggestion made by Archbishop James Duhig. On 13 May 1937, the Governor of Queensland Sir Leslie Wilson planted a small bunya tree on North Quay, Brisbane to mark the name change. Brisbane Lord Mayor John Beals Chandler undertook the improvement and beautification of the road in order to fulfill his vision of a gracious city.
Coronation Drive developed as the major transport route for the western suburbs along with Milton Road. A landslide caused by flood waters in 1974 closed Coronation Drive due to cracking and subsidance. The flood caused the redirection of Coronation Drive so that traffic inbound to Brisbane City turned left at the Sylvan Road intersection, and then right down Land Street.
In 2004 Coronation Drive was completely redeveloped into its current day form, with the redirection removed and widening to allow 6 lanes of traffic. Former Lord Mayor Jim Soorley inaugurated a series of "tidal flow" traffic lights in both directions, as well as a dedicated bus lane, in order to ease congestion along the road. Upon the election of Campbell Newman, the bus lanes were changed to T3 Transit Lanes with three occupants required. In March 2007 the T3 transit lane restrictions were removed after Campbell Newman requested the change based on analysis showing that only 5% of vehicles actually use the T3 lane. The Labor opposition did not block the change.
In September 2008, the Council announced a decision to scrap the Tidal Flow System after conceding it as a failure. This decision was influenced by the construction of the Hale Street Bridge and also the maintenance cost of the system, amounting to $600,000 each year, with a further $7 million in repairs. Instead, 3 permanent lanes will be inbound to the city and 2 lanes outbound. Statistics show that more traffic travels inbound than outbound at both morning and afternoon peak hours. One of the inbound lanes will be made into a T2 lane once the Hale Street Bridge project is well developed.
Read more about this topic: Coronation Drive, Brisbane
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