Brian Brady 
Do you ever cut through a suburban street to avoid traffic in Brisbane’s North?
It’s hard to blame you if you do, after all traffic on Northern Brisbane roads is a nightmare during peak-hour even at the best of times, but suburban streets are not designed for high levels of traffic and it can cause more problems than it solves.
Those who take shortcuts through suburban streets are being called “rat-running commuters” and they are creating a number of problems for the residents that live in those streets.
Car noise is one issue, as is the problem of safety, especially when a lot of rat-runners are speeding through the streets to beat traffic lights.
Quest Newspapers are currently asking local residents where problem streets in Brisbane are, so they can be identified to the candidates in the upcoming local government elections.
In Everton Park, Barton Street has been mentioned as a rat-running hotspot, with complaints that it’s like a car park during peak traffic times.
We’re interested to hear what local residents think about the issue – do you take shortcuts through suburban streets? What do you think could be done to fix the problem?
