General News
17 December, 2025
First traffic lights for town
ATHERTON will get its first set of traffic lights at the busy Grove Street and Kennedy Highway intersection, Mayor Rod Marti has revealed.
The Mayor and Deputy Mayor Dave Bilney met with Department of Transport and Main Roads (TMR) director-general Sally Stannard when they attended the LGAQ conference in October and took the opportunity to lobby for action at the intersection.
“We discussed the urgency of an intervention on Atherton’s northern entrance, both at the Golf Links Road and Grove St road intersections,” he told council.
“We reinforced our position that the Grove St junction was a priority given its solution will entail traffic lights, thereby providing some relief for the Golf Links intersection.
“We received correspond-ence from her office some weeks ago and have since followed up the matter with Darryl Jones, TMR’s Far Northern district director.
“He has advised that TMR agrees that an intervention at the Grove St junction would provide the advantage of a traffic pulsing effect for intersections north and south of Grove Street and that TMR had elevated the priority for investment at Grove Street.
Mayor Marti said Mr Jones had also advised that the intersection of the Kennedy Highway and the Atherton-Malanda Road had “been elevated” by TMR given the tragic accident a few months ago.
“Of course, that accident is the most recent of serious accidents occurring there,” Mayor Marti said.
“Council will continue to lobby TMR at the highest level at every opportunity for our priority roads and intersections.”
A TMR spokesperson told The Express the department recognised improvements at the intersections of Grove Street and the Malanda-Atherton Road with the Kennedy Highway were a priority for the Atherton community.
“TMR is assessing next steps to enable design work to be undertaken on both projects,” the spokesperson said.
