Roundabout planned for notorious Tablelands black spot
Mareeba locals have lamented for years there are too many serious crashes at a notorious black spot and now changes are being made.
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A roundabout will be built at a notorious intersection where a 77-year-old man died in an accident earlier this year.
Crashes at the intersection of Constance St and Herberton St in Mareeba have occurred all too frequently.
The 77-year-old man died on March 28 in a three vehicle pile up.
He was riding a Honda CB125 motorbike.
There was an accident on May 4 and again on May 20 this year at the intersection.
Four years ago a nine-year-old girl who was riding a scooter sustained serious injuries in a vehicle and pedestrian incident in Mareeba.
Mareeba Shire Mayor Angela Toppin said council had listened to community feedback from the Mareeba Traffic Management Study.
“With the expanding residential development in the east of Mareeba and the increased load limit for John Doyle bridge crossing the Barron River, the concentration of traffic at this intersection has significantly increased in recent years,” Cr Toppin said.
“The upgrade to the intersection will improve the safety of all road users and will address congestion, speed and visibility issues.”
She said there would be improved safety for heavy vehicles, less likelihood of head on collisions, and cycle lanes would be provided.
Queensland Police data shows there have been 18 crashes at the intersection between 2021 and 2023.
There was a hit and run at the intersection in 2021 and again in 2023.
The intersection of Herberton St and Walsh St has also been the scene of multiple accidents including a fatality in 2022, when a 59-year-old man died.
The Atherton Tablelands has been devastated by horrific car crashes in recent years.
In late 2023, Tallen ‘Trumby’ Fox, 25, was killed in a double fatality on the Mulligan Highway.
Mine worker Andrew Palmeri, 23, of River View near Mackay, pleaded guilty to not driving with due care and attention in the wake of a fatal accident on the Kennedy Highway near Mareeba drive in theatre.
He turned into the venue, colliding with a motorcycle ridden by 61-year-old nurse Jane Wheeler, who was on her way home from work at Mareeba Hospital.
She died at the scene.
In April this year, Tolga man David William Neville, 47, pleaded guilty o dangerous driving causing grievous bodily harm following a horror crash on Tinaroo Falls Dam Rd on the outskirts of Atherton on September 16, 2022.
Tourist Maximilian Lucas suffered what Judge Joshua Trevino said were “extreme and catastrophic” injuries that were “ruinously life challenging”.
He said Neville admitted he drove through the intersection without it being safe to do so; he saw the Subaru Liberty but did not make sure the way was clear before he turned into Marks Lane and smashed into the vehicle that was travelling on a 100km/h stretch of road.
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