General News
7 October, 2025
Drainage improvement a priority
IMPROVING drainage in Mareeba’s main business precinct will be one of the main priorities in Mareeba Shire Council’s proposed CBD Blueprint project, says Deputy Mayor Cr Lenore Wyatt.
“While there is absolutely no doubt that the installation of the Byrnes Street ‘Wombat Crossings’ certainly have slowed traffic along the town’s main thoroughfare, the crossings themselves have also provided an unintentional problem, especially during periods of heavy rainfall that we experienced earlier this year,” she said.
Earlier this year, business operators, particularly those along the western side of Byrnes Street, faced the very real threat of stormwater coming into their premises because of the changes made to the drainage network.
“Thankfully, the water, while lapping the entrances to quite a few premises, stopped just short, creating massive concerns, but also making walking safely along the footpaths totally out of the question,” Cr Wyatt said.
“Clearly, the design of the ‘wombat crossings’ acted as giant ‘whoa boys’ that slowed the immense rainfall flow into the gutters but at the same time, the drainage clearance was far too small to effectively clear the water away into the drainage system.
“This had a damming effect, particularly along the western side of our main thoroughfare.”
Cr Wyatt believes that by making the channel wider from where the chequer plate metal “step on” connects the gutter to the concrete section of the crossing would allow water to get away more easily.
Previously, council had also identified that the installation of traffic lights at the Byrnes and Rankin St intersection in 2019-20 had exacerbated flooding during heavy rainfall.
“It used to be a roundabout, and the water could get away and go down Rankin Street, and when (Department of Transport and Main Roads) TMR did the works there they put in a much smaller grate, and it has diverted more water there,” chief executive officer Peter Franks said in January.
According to the minutes of the Traffic Advisory Committee meeting, Mareeba Shire and TMR inspected the traffic lights in March 2023.
Further investigation by TMR found it would cost an estimated $1.5 million for overall rectification works at the traffic lights.
In the meantime, it elevated the grated inlet pit to reduce blockage and increase capacity.
Despite any role the wombat crossings may have had on drainage, Cr Wyatt believes that the slowing of vehicular traffic has been a definite positive, with no reported major incidents of collisions along Byrnes Street.
“Once pedestrians and motorists became aware that the ‘wombat crossings’ were not as-of-right crossings for pedestrians, orderly flow of traffic has improved immensely,” she said.
“If all road users followed the signage and intent of these traffic management systems, they provide excellent results, but at this stage, the drainage issue still remains a problem until remedied.”
Attendees at Mareeba Chamber of Commerce’s monthly business luncheon on Tuesday were due to get an update on the CBD Blueprint project from committee chair Cr Amy Braes.
