New traffic lights on Mackenzie and Margaret streets cause confusion for motorists

A new set of lights on Margaret St have caused confusion for motorists and inconvenience for residents. But the question remains: Has it fixed a dangerous intersection, or just moved traffic flow elsewhere? Vote in our poll.

A new set of lights on Margaret St has caused motorists confusion and residents inconvenience. But the questions remains: Has it fixed the traffic, or just moved it elsewhere? Vote in our poll:Â

New lights on a busy intersection of Toowoomba are calling into question what traffic measures are needed as the growing city expands its population – but also its traffic lights.

Toowoomba residents have taken to social media in rants over the new lights at the dog leg turn of Margaret and Mackenzie streets, calling them “confusing”.

For motorists regularly making their way up and down Margaret St, the lights make little sense, and add another set of traffic lights on one of the most central streets in the city, some of which exist within a few metres of each other.

On the other hand, for motorists trying to travel along Mackenzie St towards or back from St Vincent's Hospital, those same lights give a safe crossing through the some 50m of Margaret St before turning once again onto Mackenzie St, with the lights holding up the oncoming traffic of Margaret St, rather than the cars trying to turn onto Mackenzie St.

Only 2km from the CBD, the Toowoomba Grammar School intersection has hospital and medical services a mere 200m away and has traffic funnelling in and out of the city from the Range and Curzon streets.

Margaret St resident Toula Elliott lives a couple of houses down from the new lights on the city side and said at first the lights were a “bit of a pain and very annoying”, with traffic backed all the way up to Godfrey St making it difficult to enter the road from her driveway.

Ms Elliott has lived in the house on and off for the better part of 50 years, and said she had heard a number of “screeches in the night” from a car crash that ended with a vehicle in the grounds of TGS.

In fact the intersection became so notorious for crashes the traffic lights are a result of Black Spot funding after eight crashes happened within five years, two involving cyclists, and three leaving people in hospital.

A new set of lights on Margaret St has caused motorists confusion and residents inconvenience. But the questions remains: Has it fixed the traffic, or just moved it elsewhere? Vote in our poll:

That was in 2020, and now, almost four years later, the extra set of traffic lights have sparked motorists up, taking their rant online.

“I was wondering why everyone was having a rant about the new lights near Grammar. Until I drove through them,” posted Melissa Robinson on social media.

The post garnered 128 comments complaining, congratulating or commenting on whether the lights have just moved the traffic problem elsewhere.

“Confusing to say the least! We don’t go that way anymore,” commented Ros Geoff Williams.

Ms Elliott said she had noticed the traffic had “thinned out” since then.

“I guess the cars learnt to go another way,” she said.

The intersection cost an approximate $1.7m of Black Spot funding split between Toowoomba Regional Council and the Australian government, and had been in consideration for some time and took into account significant stakeholder feedback, TRC’s infrastructure services general manager Mike Brady said.

The intersection is not yet complete though and Mr Brady said green bike lanes are to be painted along Margaret St this month with final Ergon works to be completed shortly.