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Traffic management and road permits

Traffic management 

Redland City Council leads transport planning, project delivery and operations across the Redlands Coast to deliver a safe, effective road and traffic system. This includes setting the rules that govern traffic management and driver behavior. 

Speed reviews

Speed limits on public roads are set in line with the Manual of Uniform Traffic Control Devices (MUTCD) which is part of the State Government’s Transport Operations (Road Use Management) Act 1995.

When reviewing a road’s speed limit, a number of factors are considered, including the road’s function, alignment, lane widths, geometry and spacing of intersections, traffic mix and volume and official crash history.

This process tries to ensure the speed limit will be understood and accepted by the majority of road users. 

Drivers are encouraged to drive according to the road environment and conditions, which helps the speed limit become self-enforced, reducing the potential for accidents. 

Speed limits that are set inappropriately low are generally ignored by road-users, particularly by those who are familiar with the area. This can lead to disregard for speed limits in other areas.

Under state legislation, road authorities like Redland City Council cannot change the speed limits on public streets without the approval of a Speed Management Committee. 

Redland City’s Speed Management Committee is made up of traffic engineers from Redland City Council, a Queensland Police Service (QPS) representative and a traffic engineer and Road Safety Advisor from the Queensland Department of Transport and Main Roads.

Hooning and speeding

Council understands the frustration of drivers who are affected by others who exceed the speed limit, or otherwise drive in an unsafe way. 

Drivers who behave in this way are committing traffic violations that can only be addressed by Queensland Police.

As speeding is classified as hooning behaviour, you may:

Providing details like vehicle type and registration, or days and times when events that have raised your concerns can help police to target their enforcement activities. However these details are not required to report of irresponsible driver behaviour.

Council has been advised by the QPS that they are willing to conduct onsite meetings with residents about speed awareness and compliance. Redland City residents can contact the Capalaba Police Station on 3433 3333 to request such a meeting. 

Stop signs

The State Government sets standards for the placement of regulatory, warning and guide signs. 

These are outlined in the Manual of Uniform Traffic Control Devices (MUTCD) referred to above.

Under the manual, stop signs are limited to locations where sight distance is severely restricted. 

Installing stop signs at locations where drivers can see for a good distance reduces their credibility at other locations where they are necessary.

Parking and line-marking in residential streets

Council does not prohibit parking or stopping in local residential streets as parking restrictions can result in increased vehicle speeds, inconvenience to residents and displacement of on-street parking.

Parked vehicles can encourage lower speeds, as motorists have less margin for error when driving. They can also reduce the pavement width that pedestrians have to negotiate to cross the road. 

In local streets, kerbside parking is generally allowed on either or both sides of the street provided at least three metres of clear road width is left between the dividing line and vehicles, the opposite kerb or an island. 

Dividing lines are generally not marked in local streets, except to guide drivers through hazards like crests and blind corners, as their presence can encourage drivers to believe the street is a higher order street with a higher speed limit.

Drivers who park with wheels on the footpath are parked illegally. This is covered by the Road Rules, and no signs are required to enforce parking regulations on this matter.

Yellow lines are not used in residential streets as parking across driveways (partially or fully) is already illegal under the Queensland road rules, and signage is undesirable, unattractive and largely ineffective without enforcement.

Such parking restrictions affect the availability of on-street parking for other road users and may impact on the amenity of other residents in the street.

Yellow ‘No Stopping’ lines also prohibit brief stopping by drivers, including taxi or ride-share drivers, to pick up or set down passengers as permitted under Queensland road rules.

However, road users should still obey Queensland legislation stating that a driver must not stop on a road within 10 metres of an intersection unless they:

  • stop at a place to which a parking control sign applies, and
  • are permitted to stop there under regulations.

Local area traffic management (LATM)

Physical traffic management devices are designed to deter non-local traffic, not hooning activities such as speeding. 

Drivers who ignore the speed limit are not likely to be deterred by physical traffic management structures intended to reduce traffic volume.

Reports indicate that such drivers often view these measures as a challenge and drive over or around the structures at inappropriate speeds. 

The need for traffic management is established by assessing the level of non-local traffic, road conditions and officially recorded accidents

There must also be broad support from the local community to ensure a high level of acceptance by those most likely to be regularly affected.

Road permits

Permits are needed for traffic management if you are:

  • altering traffic conditions on a road
  • temporarily closing car parks
  • temporary closure of footpath
  • conducting an event that impacts Council's roads directly including cycle events in live traffic or temporarily closing a road 
  • undertaking a Controlled Burn where smoke drift may impact on roads
  • undertaking a development which includes works on a Council controlled road or road reserve.

These permits require a traffic management plan and/or a Traffic Guidance Scheme (TGS), which must be prepared by an accredited traffic control provider in line with the Transport Operations (Road Use Management) Act 1995 and the Manual of Uniform Traffic Control Devices and include:

  • Traffic guidance schemes of the sites showing appropriate signage, barricading and traffic control to be installed.
  • Description of the proposed works and lane/road closures.
  • Identification and assessment of traffic impacts of proposed works/event
  • Proposed timeline for these works.
  • Assessment of public transport services affected.
  • Details of provisions made for emergency vehicles, heavy vehicles, cyclists and pedestrians.
  • Proposed public notification process, if required.

If the roads and/or road reserves are being impacted on a state controlled road you will need a Department of Transport and Main Roads permit as well as a Council permit.

There are two types of permits available from Council:

Road opening permit

A road opening permit is required for construction works associated with a development (OPW application) that are undertaken in a Council road reserve. These can include:

  • Road widening
  • Installation of utility services eg, sewer , water, stormwater, electricity
  • Footpath construction/works
  • Development driveway installation

Please ensure your road opening permit application [PDF, 2.1MB], with fees, bonds, insurances and traffic management plan is submitted at least five days prior to requesting a prestart meeting.

If you are unsure whether you need a road opening permit contact Council's City Planning & Assessment group on (07) 3829 8999.

Traffic control permit

A traffic control permit is required for maintenance that is undertaken within the road reserve or for events that will significantly impact Council's roads or road reserve. These can include:

  • Street tree trimming
  • Infrastructure maintenance - Telstra / Energex / NBN / QRail
  • Road repairs
  • Events at Cleveland Showgrounds requiring speed reductions in adjacent streets
  • Triathlons
  • Controlled Burns

Traffic Control Permit Applications can take a minimum of 10 working days to process.

Before completing our online Traffic Control Permit Application please ensure you have ready to upload a copy of your:

  • Traffic control plan/schemes,
  • Public liability insurance
  • Workers compensation insurance.

The traffic control indemnity form has now been integrated into the new online process. Refer to page 40 of the Council Register of Fees and Charges [1.1 MB] for the Traffic Control Permit  application fee - an invoice will be issued for upon processing of your application. . 

If you are unsure whether you need a traffic control permit, contact Council's City Operations Group on (07) 3829 8999.

Related road permit forms and guides