Hit the brakes on traffic lights

IMPROVEMENTS to Florence St in the Cairns CBD to make it safer for pedestrians and cyclists are welcome except for one glaring change: more traffic lights.

The CBD needs fewer traffic lights, not more, and the replacement of two roundabouts at Lake and Abbott streets with signals is just going to make the flow of traffic more erratic.

Cairns Regional Council has an opportunity to slow down traffic (which is already at 40km/h) and make it safer for pedestrians and cyclists by laying cobblestones in Florence St from Sheridan St through to Abbott St and keep the roundabouts. They will slow vehicles down and create a more pleasant ambience.

The cobblestone paving with pylon lights work extremely well in Lake St at the Shields St intersection where the speed limit is 20km/h – and there are no traffic lights.

Pedestrians and cyclists can safely cross the street without impeding traffic flow.

Under the Florence St plan, motorists will be faced with more stop-start movements and more frustrations.

Councils and governments use traffic lights to solve problems because they are just too convenient and relatively inexpensive.

Planners and engineers need to be innovative and creative instead of taking the easy way out.

There are about 27 intersections controlled by traffic lights in the CBD and commuters do not want any more.

There have never been any issues with the Lake and Abbott street roundabouts and the council needs to take the $10.5 million design back to the drawing board before it is too late. Nick Dalton Deputy editor