The coast road between Ballina and Byron Bay is a high-value scenic tourist route, while Ballina Council is sensibly installing roundabouts all along the Coast Road – preserving the region’s charm and environmental values – Byron Council administration proposed and arranged funding for traffic lights at our shire’s southern gateway at Suffolk Park. This direction is lazy, out of character, and truly second-rate.
Byron Shire prides itself on being a guardian of environmental and lifestyle values, yet not only do traffic lights undermine those ideals, roundabouts are a proven superior traffic management system. We are indeed lucky to have a Greens mayor and councillors responsive to community concerns willing to scrutinise the received wisdom of the Council administration. Decisions like this, made for convenience rather than quality, set a damaging precedent.
Byron Bay is an iconic destination for NSW, valued for its unique character and culture as much as its natural beauty. We deserve an exemplary southern gateway that reflects this. I urge Council administration to rethink their approach. Create a project that enhances the area: a generous boulevard between roundabouts at Clifford Street and Beach Drive, naturally traffic-calmed with safe pedestrian crossings, landscaping, bus stops, street lighting that fits our character and public amenity that enriches the community. Temporary mobile lights could be installed now just to manage peak congestion but allow the time to do this properly.
This isn’t just desirable – it’s essential. Byron deserves better and ‘Better is Possible’.
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