Community & Business
11 April, 2025
New digital sign rejected
A PROPOSED digital advertising sign to be installed at the intersection of Rankin and Byrnes Street has been rejected by Mareeba Shire Council.
The application by Paradise Outdoor Advertising was for a double-sided sign of 3.4m x 4.8m that, once mounted on a pole, would stand 8.5m high on the footpath in front of the Dunlop Tyre Centre.
One side was to have digital changing displays and the other side was to remain static.
But council officers and the Department of Transport and Main Roads (DTMR) had great concerns about the sign’s ability to distract drivers at the busy intersection.
“The sign will dominate the immediate locality, particularly considering its sign face area and height, and the forever changing digital LED lit sign face will continue to draw the attention of anyone in the immediate vicinity with new advertising media (as is its intention),” a council report stated.
“The Byrnes/Rankin Street intersection is perhaps the most significant intersection in the Mareeba township, with approximately 15 traffic light/pedestrian signals on individual poles.
“The proposed freestanding sign will only add to visual clutter at this location, particularly of an evening/night time when the traffic signals and sign faces will appear brighter.
“The sign is likely to increase levels of driver distraction to a degree that would impact on the safety of vehicles and pedestrians using the….intersection. The proposed signage, with a sign face area of over 16m2 is essentially a billboard and is situated outside the mapped localities considered suitable for billboard signage.”
Although the council had no requirement to contact DTMR, officers sought advice and were advised that the location of the sign fell within a Restriction Notice Area (within 45m of the signalised intersection).
Only advertising devices that do not move, rotate, change the image or message being displayed, and do not flash (but may be illuminated) are permitted within the Restriction Notice Area.
Council unanimously rejected the application.
