Traffic management
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:
1. 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.
2. 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:
- Infrastructure maintenance - Telstra / Energex / NBN / QRail
- Road repairs
- Street tree trimming
- Events at Cleveland Showgrounds requiring speed reductions in adjacent streets
- Triathlons
- Controlled Burns
Traffic Control Permit applications can take a minimum of 10 business days to process – please allow for public holidays and Council Christmas and New Year closure period.
Before completing our 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 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
- Traffic Control Permit Application
- Domestic driveways and crossovers
- Road opening permit application [PDF, 0.5MB]
- Roadside memorial notification form [PDF, 0.1MB]
- Structure on Road Reserve [PDF, 0.1MB] (skip bins, containers etc.)
- Road construction
Hooning and speeding
Hooning is a common word used for any anti-social behaviour in a motor vehicle (car, van or motor bike) a is dangerous activity that impacts the community, pedestrians and other road users.
Speeding is defined as driving over the posted speed limit or at a speed that is inappropriate for the driving conditions (e.g. rain, fog, traffic volume, traffic flow). Speeding is not safe in any circumstance and is one of the major causes of fatalities on Queensland roads.
Speed limits are set and enforced to reduce crashes and save lives. Fines and demerit points apply when a person is caught driving a vehicle above the posted speed limit.
The speed limit in built-up areas in Queensland is 50km/h unless otherwise indicated by signs.
To report this dangerous behaviour, you should contact your local police station, Policelink on 131 444, 13HOON (134 666) or via the Queensland Police online form which can be found at this link Reporting a Traffic Incident
By providing as much information about the incident at the time of reporting it, Police are better able to use their resources more effectively this dangerous behaviour.
To assist authorities to address the issue you should provide the following details when reporting these incidents:
- time and date
- the location
- the nature of dangerous activity
- details of the vehicles involved
- any photographs or videos of these incidents
If there is an immediate threat to your safety you should call 000.
Council does not support the installation of traffic management devices to combat hooing issues. Hooning is a policing matter and best dealt with by the authority of the Qld Police Service.
What should you report
Under Queensland legislation, hooning includes the following behavours;
- screeching brakes
- revving of engines
- skidding
- donuts
- drifting
- fishtails
- speeding and street racing
- driving so as to cause unnecessary noise or smoke
Even at low speeds, hooing behavour may cause a driver to loose control of their vehicle and this behaviour is reportable.
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 (3m) 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. Under the Queensland 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. If your driveway has insufficient access, you may wish to consider widening your driveway. Further information can be found on the RCC website at this link: Domestic driveways and crossovers
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)
LATM is a method of addressing inappropriate driver behaviour in the context of a local precinct or road. The aim of LATM is to constrain excessive vehicle speeds, improve road safety and amenity to which it is applied and to discourage drivers from taking shortcuts through local streets (rat running).
LATM process may involve a single or multiple measures, such as:
- arrangement of physical traffic management devices
- street scaping treatments
- regulation
- other non physical measures to influence a drivers behaviour
LATM devices are not suitable for all areas, and particular care will be given to the impacts of traffic-calming on the local network. It is recognised that LATM measures can have the undesirable effect of moving a problem elsewhere on the network. Traffic management affects the whole community and must balance the needs of a broad range of users with an appropriate level of amenity for adjacent land uses.
To report this inappropriate and dangerous behaviour, you should contact your local police station, Policelink on 131 444 , 13HOON (134 666) or via the Queensland Police online form which can be found at this link Reporting a Traffic Incident