The speed limit on an increasingly busy suburban road will be reviewed after residents of a retirement village raised concerns.
A petition by residents of Halcyon Nirimba was presented to last month’s ordinary meeting of Sunshine Coast Council asking for increased safety measures along Banya Avenue.
A council spokesperson confirmed some speed monitoring had already been undertaken as part of its review of the 60km/h limit.
A three-year-old girl tragically passed away after a multi-vehicle crash on the road in January.
The petition, which had 250 signatures, was presented by Councillor Jenny Broderick, who said Halcyon residents were worried about the road directly outside the retirement village entrance.
“The residents of Halcyon have raised clear and consistent concerns about increasing traffic volumes, speeding vehicles and safety impacts on drivers, pedestrians and schoolchildren using this section of road,” she told the meeting.
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“We all know Aura is growing at a rapid rate and therefore the traffic is increasing. This is also exacerbated by this being the main road to the next suburb (Banya), which means all of the construction trucks are using it as well.
“Their proposal for a reduced speed limit and associated safety measures is both practical and worthy of being assessed within our traffic management frameworks.”
The council spokesperson said some safety improvements had already been made along the road, but a speed limit reduction would also be considered.
“A review of the speed limit on Banya Avenue in Nirimba will be undertaken to determine whether changes are needed to improve safety and traffic flow,” they said.
“Crash data indicates one recorded incident in Banya Avenue during the past five years, and council is aware of a more recent incident at the intersection with Lady Elliot Avenue, which has not yet appeared in the official data.
“Speed monitoring conducted over the past four weeks shows that most drivers are travelling at or below the posted 60km/h limit along most of Banya Avenue. The only area where slightly higher speeds were recorded was between Terrance Avenue and Great Keppel Way, with some vehicles travelling around 63km/h.
“Council has been made aware of visibility concerns raised by residents of the Halcyon Village regarding right‑turn movements at their exit. Following an investigation, council implemented vegetation clearing and updated line marking to improve sightlines and enhance safety at this location.”
The spokesperson said speed limit changes in Queensland followed a state‑mandated assessment process to ensure any adjustments reflected the road environment, surrounding land use and safety needs of all road users.
“Much of the Aura community remains under construction and council will continue to work closely with the developer Stockland as the local road network grows,” they said.
“Broader transport planning for the precinct will be guided by future development stages and evolving community needs.”
The aerial imagery in this story is from Australian location intelligence company Nearmap. The company provides government organisations, architectural, construction and engineering firms, and other companies, with easy, instant access to high-resolution aerial imagery, city-scale 3D content, artificial intelligence data sets, and geospatial tools to assist with urban planning, monitoring and development projects in Australia, New Zealand and North America.
