Tweed Shire Council moves to raise Splendour In the Grass traffic issues

The North Coast council will raise issues of “very dangerous” overnight queues and congestion stemming from the mega music festival to a higher body.

Tweed Shire Council will take issues with the disastrous management of the recent Splendour in the Grass traffic to a higher body.

Mayor Chris Cherry moved to raise all traffic committee recommendations from June 9 concerning the festival’s traffic at Thursday’s council meeting.

She asked that the traffic issues outlined be raised to a regulatory working group representative.

It comes after punters for the opening day of the 2022 festival were left stranded in muddy, hours-long traffic queues with limited food and reception.

The North Byron Parklands site was then closed to all campers and vehicles due to the foul weather.

Splendour in the Grass 2022 crowds here smiling when the sun eventually came out. Picture: Matt Gazy

Ms Cherry said the wide-scale “traffic failures” needed to be noted.

“There were major issues impacting on our shire as well as the Byron Shire, particularly on the M1, but obviously on our local roads as well,” she said.

“We had a lot of very dangerous situations out there with young kids having to sleep on the highway.

“It was traffic banked up for hours and hours and overnight.”

Tweed Shire Council mayor Chris Cherry said the traffic congestion due to Splendour In the Grass was “very dangerous”. Picture: Matt Roberts

The vote to implement the recommendations was unanimous, with Ms Cherry saying the problems couldn’t be blamed only on the weather.

“I know there was a weather event but it wasn’t that big of a weather event,” she said.

“I honestly think it proved 50,000 (patrons) is too many for that site and the accesses that we have.”

Following the festival fallout, many politicians and residents criticised the Yelgun site for its “reckless” increase in attendees on the flood-plain land.