$2.2m project fails to get residents aboard
CLIFTON BEACH residents say a $2.2 million upgrade has failed to improve safety on one of the city’s most dangerous stretches of roads.
The State Government installed traffic lights and a new bus shelter at the intersection of the Captain Cook Hwy and Clifton Rd following the car crash death of Kewarra Beach father Gregg Dawson in 2017.
Resident Catherine Morris said the intersection upgrade was a poor fix and bus drivers were still using the old bus shelter.
It comes as the Department of Transport and Main Roads this week lowered the speed limit to 70km/h.
“The bus companies can’t use it because it interrupts the flow of traffic, and now they’ve had to lower the limit,” Ms Morris said. “That’s a complete failure. Kids are still taking their lives into their hands every time they cross.”
Bus drivers will soon have no option but to use the new shelter, with the former structure due to be demolished next week.
Another resident, Joe Lo Grasso, argued the bus stop had been placed too close to the traffic lights.
“Why did they spend all this money and not fix anything?” he said.
“Buses have right of way, so they have to pull out in front of traffic on the highway.
“The whole thing was done because kids were running across the road at peak hour, and that’s still happening.”
Division 9 Cairns Regional Councillor Brett Olds said he was overrun with complaints about the signalised intersection slowing down traffic without improving safety.
“They always seem to take the cheapest option,” he said.
“If they had put in a roundabout with a pedestrian underpass in the first place, this would have been fixed.
“There aren’t even any footpaths for the kids down to the playground.”
Barron River MP Craig Crawford said there might be teething issues but driver and pedestrian habits would change with time.
“Families and parents need to educate their kids about crossing the road so we don’t need to build cages and fences, which are a bit of an eyesore,” he said.
“Maybe a bit of adjusting needs to happen, but all in all it’s a good result up there.”