Daintree Ferry solution but not yet
New ferry will change everything
In recent times Douglas Shire Council meetings are throwing up a lot of deferred items. Today was no different as a possible solution to the never-ending Daintree Ferry problems was put up and tossed out, for the time being.
Leading the charge to have it put on the back burner for a month came from Deputy Mayor Lisa Scommazon who was at pains to tell Newsport that she’s not against the new plan but wants more information to discuss at the next Councillor workshop “We need to discuss this further and although I want to move forward with this, I need to know the full costings and who’s going to build the new ferry, I just need more detail and then I'll look at it at our next meeting” she said.
Sounds like a good idea
What is the latest ferry solution? Well, it’s to do away with the current vessel and get a wider four lane ferry. The extra lane would provide more vehicle space, thus allowing a more efficient service. A two-ferry solution is pie in the sky because it’s believed permits would be difficult and expensive to obtain and dredging costs would be massive for the small Council. This bigger capacity new ferry idea certainly has a lot of merit and is considered by many in Council to be a goer. It’s understood staff have done a lot of work in this area and have the facts and figures to back it up.
The trouble with the current ferry is that during peak tourist times there are big delays, plus they can only load one lane at a time. The four-lane ferry can be loaded two lanes at a time and carry 90 per cent more cars per hour. That’s huge in anyone’s book.
Infrastructure changes
Of course, Council would have to provide more lanes for vehicles waiting to go onto the ferry and Mayor Kerr told Newsport today that the southern priority lane would need to be placed further back from its present position “Locals, tradies and others will be able to get into that priority lane a lot sooner than they can now” he said. Council also wants to put a priority lane on the northern side. At the next Council meeting on August 30th, we’ll learn if progress will be made or it’s another back burner job.