Green means go – Byron to get first traffic lights

THE Byron Shire is set to get its first set of traffic lights at Suffolk Park after Council voted in favour of the move at a recent meeting.

The lights will be installed at the busy and dangerous intersection at Clifford Street and Broken Head Road, near The Park Hotel Motel.

Transport for NSW will fund the $1.8 million project under its Road Safety Program.

The decision to accept the grant – which the previous Council had applied for – was made despite a Metis Options Report warning that traffic lights will be less effective than a roundabout by 2034 as road use increases.

Councillor Jack Dods, who moved the motion, said while he would prefer a roundabout it would be bad governance to knock back hard-to-get funding that could save lives by June 2026.

“It would probably take another five years to do the planning and land acquisitions for a roundabout and a couple of years for construction,” he said. “The safety implications of what could happen in that five-to-seven-year window was too great to ignore.

“I wish the grant had gone through for both options – I would have leant into the roundabout option – but that wasn’t on the table.

“It’s an imperfect solution but it’s irresponsible of us to say no to funding that could fix a problem that’s been in existence for more than 20 years in under 18 months.”

Council is also looking at replacing the traffic lights with a roundabout as a long-term solution, with staff asked to ascertain the cost of acquiring land and constructing it down the track.

They are also looking at an alternative entry to the area known as Beachside Suffolk, while lies on the eastern side of Broken Head Road, and upgrading and widening the pedestrian refuge to the south leg of the Beech Drive roundabout as a matter of urgency to alleviate safety concerns there.