The City of Gold Coast will be implementing new mitigation measures to reduce wildlife-vehicle collisions, after a report identified a high density of collision hotspots along several key roads.
The report identified a number of collision hotspots between koalas and vehicles concentrated along roads within Currumbin Waters,Currumbin Valley, Elanora, Tallebudgera and Burleigh Heads.
Major roads within the northern suburbs also pose a risk, with further hotspots in Parkwood, Arundel, Coombabah and Helensvale.
New mitigation measures to be explored include:
- Additional signage (static as well as vehicle activated)
- New fauna fencing
- Modifying existing fencing
- Installing fauna culverts
- Retrofitting existing culverts with fauna furniture
- Vegetation management
- Vehicle calming devices such as speed humps, rumble strips and chicanes)
- Koala grids (to restrict access to roads)
- Koala ladders (to enable escape from roads)
Gold Coast Mayor, Tom Tate, said most collision hotspot roads would require a suite of mitigation measures to change both driver and wildlife behaviour.
“We currently undertake a range of measures to reduce strikes, such as fauna exclusion fencing, fauna underpasses, static wildlife signage, koala speed awareness devices and variable messaging signs, as well as community education and awareness messaging,” Mayor Tate said.
“We will build on what we already do to hopefully reduce wildlife fatalities on City-controlled roads.
“The City will also explore a feasibility trial of a koala crossing at Napper Road.
“We will continue to analyse and assess the best ways to prevent wildlife-vehicle collisions on the Gold Coast and work with the State Government on how best to manage these instances on state-controlled roads.”
More than 13,000 records of wildlife-vehicle collisions (all native species) have been reported on Gold Coast roads in the last decade.
Koalas make up 12.5 per cent of these records, with 1,625 animals being hit by a car on Gold Coast roads from 2010-2020.
