Bushland Beach: Push for Lionel Turner Drive extension facing fresh hurdles

A push to fast-track the development of a road causing angst in the Bushland Beach community has hit another roadblock with council. Here’s why.

A push to fast-track the development of a road causing angst in the Bushland Beach community has hit another roadblock with council.

A petition signed by almost 300 residents calling for the Lionel Turner Drive extension and connection to North Shore Blvd — which is set to begin in 2026 — to be fast-tracked was a hot topic at Townsville City Council’s meeting on Wednesday.

Bushland Beach resident Tim Doyle, who submitted the petition, said the rapidly growing suburb only had one access point into and out of Bushland Beach for 6500 residents.

“It only takes one accident on Mt Low Parkway between the roundabout at Lionel Turner Drive and the traffic lights at North Shore Blvd to shut down access into and out of Bushland Beach,” he said.

Tim Doyle is calling on Townsville City Council to help push along the development of Lionel Turner Rd. Picture: Caitlan Charles

“If by chance an emergency evacuation of the suburb was needed, it would be impossible to get all residents out and to safety in a timely manner.”

Council’s chief planning officer Ryan Hall said the current 2026 timeline for the planned extension was based on the rate of growth for the area.

“In the scenario, the entire Bushland Beach community need to evacuate, the estimated time to Townsville would take about nine hours, and the pinch point is actually not on Mt Low Parkway or Lionel Turner Drive — it’s actually where North Shore Blvd and Mt Low Parkway reach the highway,” he said.

Tim Doyle is calling on Townsville City Council to help push along the development of Lionel Turner Rd. Picture: Caitlan Charles

“In terms of accidents on Mt Low Parkway, there’s been 13 accidents recorded in our system over the last 10 years, one involving a fatality and nine hospitalisations.”

Cr Sue Blom said she believed that the number of crashes was much higher.

“There’s an accident out there almost every weekend, but they’re not necessarily all reported,” she said.

“On behalf of the community, if this (connection) isn’t brought forward and we as a council don’t think about this, I’m terrified that something going to happen to somebody within our community.”

It prompted Mayor Jenny Hill to move that council place a camera at the corner of the Lynwood Ave and Mt Low Parkway roundabout next February to independently assess traffic accident data for one month before making a final decision on the petition.

The motion was passed unanimously with the exception of Cr Fran O’Callaghan, who wanted to see the works constructed at an earlier date. 

Originally published as Bushland Beach: Push for Lionel Turner Drive extension facing fresh hurdles