ALEX HARRIS
Far from the constant cry of ‘last koala here’ or ‘last koala there’, I am of the firm belief that we have a tiny population of urban koalas clinging to life in Noosa that needs our full support and every effort to ensure they and their offspring survive and thrive as residents of the new Noosa Council area.
There are clear hot spots for koala deaths and injuries where we would like to see Council, Energex and other stakeholders work together to ensure a resolution that enhances the safety and survival of the species in Noosa. First and foremost is the intersection and surrounds of Leslie Drive-Noosa Drive-Weyba Road. If you look at the map on KoalaTracker, you can see koalas have been sighted from the AFL football grounds, through the RACV Resort (which used to be a natural sanctuary for koalas), through to Noosa Springs along and between the Weyba Creek Esplanade and Leslie Drive. Or more correctly, sighted, killed and injured by car. There are three key dangers for koalas in this precinct: volume of traffic, speed, lighting. Council is aware of the danger – signs with pictures of wildlife were erected; poles allowing swift koala exit from the road up the rock wall on Leslie Drive and the timber fence on Noosa Drive enclosing the RACV Resort, were embedded on build. While Eenie Creek Road (itself another hotspot for later discussion) has removed some of the volume of through traffic from Leslie Drive-Weyba Road there remains the issue of speed and lighting at this critical intersection. It is a 60kms per hour speed zone, yet regardless of how many drivers on Leslie Drive, Noosa Drive and Weyba Road entering the roundabout are actually doing the speed limit or under as they approach the intersection, 60km is too high a speed. Three key koala crossings exist in the vicinity of this roundabout. The extreme danger zone is on Weyba Road between the Weyba Creek bridge and the roundabout where koalas cross from Weyba Esplanade to and from the RACV Resort. The second is between Weyba Esplanade and the RACV Resort on Leslie Drive. The third is between the RACV Resort and the residential estate of Cooloola Hill across Noosa Drive. There is a secondary danger zone on Leslie Drive, between the roundabout and just past Paul Street where the road splits into two levels, where koalas were frequent traffic stoppers until the second last vacant block on Leslie Drive was stripped of about 40 food trees in 2010. Koalas still cross there, but not as frequently. Rather than signs with pretty pictures that are meaningless to most drivers, I would suggest blunt text that states: SLOW DOWN KOALAS CROSSING on all three roads and at two points on each – leading to and at the roundabout. Enhanced street lighting at the roundabout, and specifically between the bridge over Weyba Creek and the roundabout on Weyba Road, is called for to ensure drivers at night can see if an animal runs onto the road. And it would assist greatly to have a reduced speed for 30 metres from the roundabout out on each of these roads, and at other such hotspots throughout the shire. With a juvenile koala sighted just last Friday morning on Leslie Drive heading to the roundabout, it is important we revisit the need for risk mitigation sooner rather than later.
Alex Harris is the creator of KoalaTracker.com.au and a sales agent with Ray White Noosa River
