General News
7 May, 2026
Remove obsolete cane signs
FRUSTRATED Douglas Shire driving instructor Stephen Lee has initiated a public survey after questioning, whether or not, a speed limit of 40km/h between Cooya Beach and Mossman should exist.
Mr Lee believes there should be a change of speed limit on the Junction Road and Bonnie Doon Road route, where, since the sugar mill closure, local motorists have faced what Mr Lee feels is unnecessary aggravation and speeding fines due to an outdated speed limit of 40km/h.
The petition set up by Mr Lee currently has well over 300 signatures, so support for his belief appears to be quite high.
After my discussions with him and a visit to the site in question, I then couldn’t help but become a bit a of a road sign nerd.
This resulted in my discovery of numerous now defunct signs that really should have been removed some time ago.
I began to question why this outdated signage exists, whether it could actually be confusing to drivers, especially those visiting the area and how much nicer the scenery may look with less metalwork. Junctions where these signs exist may also be potentially safer with less to obscure the driver’s view.
With the cane trains no longer running, as Stephen previously pointed out, I am assuming there is no longer a requirement for the ‘beware of trains’ signs.
In my travels, as a now self-appointed sign investigator, I also spotted a sign, still very prominent along the Captain Cook Highway, just south of Mossman, which warns drivers about the cane haulage from Mossman to the Mulgrave Central Mill in Gordonvale.
With the $6 million funding for this transportation long finished and the sign clearly stating to be cautious until last December, the sign is well and truly past its use by date.
From various discussions, I have had with those supposedly in the know, it appears that the general opinion has determined that until the assets of the old Mossman Mill are fully sold, which includes the train rails, nothing is going to be taken down.
This attitude suggests to me that some people may be thinking that everything should be kept in place, just in case the sugarcane industry is resurrected and the trains return.
Let’s be honest, with the locomotives long sold, the cane bins either sent for scrap, or rusting on the roadside, and farmers thinking about new farming options, this is never going to happen.
Not being a road expert, it is probably not my place to comment, but it seems common sense, to me, to start considering the removal of these unnecessary and redundant eyesores on our roadsides.
You may well agree or disagree, of course.
Well, that is it from me this week, so for now it’s Gazza ‘signing’ out!
Send your stories to gazza@cairnslocalnews.com.au
