Last chance to join thousands supporting Quaid's Road petition
Shire transport
A petition to stop the permanent closure of Quaid’s Road has attracted more than 6300 signatures since it was launched in May.
With the petition set to be closed off at the end of the month, organiser Iain Edwards is taking part in one final push to attract more supporters, including helping out at a stall run by Cook MP David Kempton at the Mareeba Markets.
Mr Kempton is an enthusiastic backer of making the thoroughfare - which was the only open road into Douglas Shire at one stage after Cyclone Jasper - more accessible to the public.
“Hundreds of people lined up to sign the petition at the Mareeba Markets today,” Mr Kempton pointed out this month.
“The owners are willing to have it opened.
“The road runs through two shires, both of whom support its opening.”
Mr Kempton said “we do not need UNESCO” to tell us whether we can use Quaid’s Road.
In 1988 the Federal Government made regulations under the World Heritage Properties Conservation Act 1983 to prevent the road from opening.
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) has since declared the 450km region from Townsville to Cooktown a protected zone.
In the petition, Mr Edwards outlines that the route was finished in 1989, but passes through rainforest landscapes and ecosystems that are now included in the UNESCO Wet Tropics World Heritage Area.
A permit allowing access through the National Park expires at the end of March, so Quaid Road may be permanently closed then, Mr Edwards states.
The proposed permanent closure is slated for part of Quaid’s Road from Lake Mitchell at Mt Molloy to Wangetti.
“During Cyclone Jasper 2023, all major road access to Cairns was blocked for three days due to flooding and landslips affecting the Kuranda Range, areas near Port Douglas and Innisfail,” the petition states.
“Quaid Road sustained only minor damage enabling quick repair and providing emergency access for residents and businesses.”
The road is officially known as Quaid Road, but most locals call it Quaid’s.
You can sign the petition before Friday, July 31, HERE.
