Byron Shire Council has acknowledged that some of its current measures to protect wildlife from vehicle strikes have limited effectiveness, while funding has yet to be secured for seasonal electronic warning signs on several key koala routes.
A report to Council’s Transport and Infrastructure Advisory Committee says wildlife-strike data is reviewed annually and used to update a GIS mapping layer identifying road-kill hotspots across the Shire.
The mapping is then used to inform road design and wildlife mitigation measures at higher-risk locations.
But the report also says monitoring of existing measures has found that warning signs can have only a short-term influence on driver behaviour.
Vehicle-activated signs have also shown limited effectiveness on roads with higher speed limits, while the regional Koala Vehicle Strike Working Group has concluded that signage on its own is not enough to significantly change driver behaviour.
Council has previously installed seven solar-powered speed-activated koala warning signs, along with ‘Koala Zone’ road markings, on Coorabell Road, Coolamon Scenic Drive near Federal and Broken Head Road.
It also ran a temporary lighting and variable-message-sign campaign on Hinterland Way during the 2025 koala breeding season.
Local wildlife advocates have previously pushed for stronger road-safety measures for koalas in the Shire. Friends of the Koala area coordinator Dale Viola was among those who backed calls for traffic calming at The Pass last year, while Council records also show it met with Friends of the Koala over temporary koala warning signs at Ocean Shores.
However, there is currently no confirmed funding for variable-message signs at Hinterland Way, Lismore Road at Bangalow and Broken Head Road at Suffolk Park for this year’s breeding season.
That funding gap comes as Council is dealing with broader financial pressures. Its current long-term financial planning includes a proposed Special Rate Variation aimed partly at reducing the General Fund operating deficit and improving financial sustainability.
The report also notes that Transport for NSW does not reduce speed limits solely for wildlife protection, although Council can raise wildlife safety concerns during speed-zone reviews.
For state roads, Transport for NSW generally considers standard static or seasonal warning signs, rather than permanent flashing signs, vehicle-activated signs or wildlife-specific road markings.
More sophisticated approaches are being trialled elsewhere, including AI-assisted thermal and optical animal-detection systems linked to roadside warning signs, lighter road surfaces designed to improve wildlife visibility and high-contrast ‘koala + SLOW’ road markings.
The report says those trials are still underway and no conclusive results have yet been published.
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