The recent council decision to install traffic lights in Suffolk Park isn’t just about safety, it’s also about locality design. Why a speed reduction wasn’t proposed as an obvious, immediate option to improve safety isn’t clear. But it goes deeper than that. It’s about character and sense of place.
For over three decades community consultations on planning have consistently revealed what we value and what we don’t. We didn’t want Club Med, MacDonalds or KFC and also traffic lights. We aren’t a city, we are a low key, low density, nature, and community-based location. These are important aspects of Byron’s desirability as a home and a visitor destination. It’s time to look closely at community concerns and recognise that there may be other ways to achieve improved safety and to respect the character of place.
A review of the reports indicates that traffic lights will not deliver the outcomes required and also failed to consider a mini-roundabout option. An immediate improvement would be to lower the speed, which is also important for this wildlife corridor, and a review to consider low key solutions that deliver on safety and respect the character and sense of place. These are key aspects of good planning.
For four decades The Echo has printed the stories some people loved, some people hated, and some pretended not to read. If you want us to keep telling the truth, the real truth, not the sugar-coated version. We’ll need your support to keep the presses rolling. 
