Queensland's first Safe Active Street puts bikes front and centre in Toowoomba

Toowoomba's Pierce Street is Queensland's first Safe Active Street. (ABC Southern Qld: Peter Gunders)

On Pierce Street in Toowoomba, at the edge of the CBD, the blatant, bold surface markings leave no doubt that this quiet, tree-lined road is unlike any other.

"To me, as a cyclist, it tells me quite clearly that's where I should be cycling — right in the middle of the road," said Hugh Wilson, the president of the Toowoomba Bicycles Users Group.

"It's a symbol that bicycles are 'it' for the street."

An idea five years in the making, Queensland's first "Safe Active Street" prioritises cyclists, allowing them to ride in the centre of the road.

The 30-kilometre-per-hour speed limit applies to all vehicles: cars, bicycles, electric bikes, and scooters.

Part of the Principal Cycle Network, the small suburban street links two of Toowoomba's major bike paths, and the council hopes it will lead to an increase in cycling activity.

Councillor Carol Taylor said the inspiration came from Denmark.

"We want it to be a place people can take their children and know they're going to be safe as they become used to travelling on roads and cycleways," she said.

For Mr Wilson, an experienced cyclist, the idea that, even for only 500 metres, a car should give way to a bicycle on a Queensland road is radical.

"In that sense, the council should be congratulated, but we'll see how it goes beyond this street," he said.

"Unfortunately, not many drivers come down Pierce Street, but it's a start."

Drivers 'should be celebrating'

Irrespective of its size, the road has gained the attention of urban planners.

"Cycling is a mode of transport that's incredibly beneficial to broader society," said Mark Limb, senior lecturer in urban and regional planning at QUT.

Dr Limb believed linking established bike paths with Safe Active Streets to form transport corridors will benefit all road users.

"I think those who are upset about cyclists blocking their way should also be celebrating this sort of thing because every cyclist doing a trip, like going to work or to the shops, means a car off the road — so that's less traffic," he said.

"The traffic is what's really holding you up, not the bicycles."

Re-imagining road spaces

Dr Limb said while Australia was at the very start of the "active transport" journey, lessons could be learnt from bicycle-friendly international destinations, including Europe.

"A lot of the issues we have with traffic is actually 'through traffic'," he explained.

He said when through traffic was filtered out, streets became a much more attractive environment.

"They take specific measures in their towns and villages to prevent traffic going through the middle of the town; you can drive a car into it, but you can't get through it," he said.

He acknowledged the concept of restricting through traffic may be difficult for a car-reliant nation to grasp.

"We just got very accustomed in Australia to accepting that cars get to occupy 40 per cent of our urban environments," Dr Limb said.

He believed suburban active streets helped us rethink our relationship not only with cars but the road itself.

"By taming those spaces, you start to enable other uses," he said.

"A lot of these neighbourhood streets are barely trafficked at all during the day, so we have these huge areas of land that are barely utilised.

"By narrowing them in such a way as the cycle streets often do, you reduce the car speed, but in the process, you start to think, 'What can I do with that narrowed space? Could it be an informal playground? Could it be a verge-based community garden?'

"There's a whole range of possibilities, and individual communities would be able to sort of determine what is best.

"I think it's more than just a transport solution."

Trial run

Back at Pierce Street, an electric scooter rolls down the middle of the road while a family of ducks wanders up from the nearby creek.

The street has only been open for a couple of weeks, not enough time to gather data on the ratio of car-to-bike usage.

But Hugh Wilson already had his eye on other roads around the city.

"You wouldn't put a Safe Active Street on the highway, that's pretty obvious, but you might do it near schools and parks," he said.

"A 30kph zone is a valuable change, and can easily be rolled out to other areas where it's reasonable."

And he had already thought of his own measurement to see if the Safe Active Street was a success.

"It'll be the sound of lots of bells ringing," he smiled.