2019-03-12 P&E Agenda - Item 5 - Attachment 2 - Koala Infrastructure & Feasibility Report

•    collaboration with the Department of Transport and Main Roads (DTMR), GRC or SCC - high risk sections
     on State controlled roads or potential corridors that cross Council boundaries (blue)
•    potential soft measures on local roads in high connectivity areas (green)

Preference was to apply higher ratings to roads identified for upgrades as part of capital works programs,
however, this data was not available and, instead, Council roads with high traffic volumes and high koalas
risk were identified.

Major council roads were prioritised by existing infrastructure and potential for hard infrastructure (see
Section 3 for definition). Areas with potential for soft infrastructure (see Section 3 for definition) were given
a lower priority. The potential for mitigation measures using hard or soft infrastructure was defined by:

•    Road Type
        o Major and connector roads – hard infrastructure where suitable (i.e. where high risk identified
             above falls upon roads with higher speeds/sealed roads which often are associated with koala
             collisions)
        o Local roads – soft measures where applicable (lower speeds/less chance of koala collision)
•    Type of Risk
        o High connectivity and high density records may indicate koala corridors with high vehicle traffic
             and unsafe corridor crossings and/or poor visibility and may require hard infrastructure (e.g.
             retrofitting existing culverts, bridges, koala fencing etc.)
        o High connectivity roads only (with no koala records) may require soft infrastructure such as road
             signage/speed restrictions as preventative measures

2.3.            Field Assessment
The field assessment aimed to:

•    map and audit existing infrastructure to provide an overview of the condition of infrastructure and
     inform recommendations; and
•    investigate the high-risk hotspot areas on major Council roads identified for gap analysis to inform
     recommendations for additional koala infrastructure

High priority hotspots were assessed for location and general condition of existing infrastructure and the
potential for retrofitting existing or installing new infrastructure.

The following features were extracted from existing mapping, consultation and google street view to identify
target features for auditing and potential retrofitting:

•    Road network and State controlled Roads
•    SC infrastructure (consultation, street view, GIS layer)
•    Bridges (existing GIS layer)
•    Culverts (>1200mm diameter) (existing GIS layer)
•    Koala fencing (street view and consultation with council and DTMR). Fencing locations for DTMR roads
     have not been mapped by DTMR and locations are vague due to recent Cooroy to Curra Upgrades.
•    Climbing structures etc. (street view and consultation)
•    Existing wildlife/koala signage (some in existing GIS layer, streetview and field capture)
•    Speed restrictions (existing GIS layer)
•    Tenure
•    Nature Refuges and Protected Area Estates
Koala Infrastructure Audit & Feasibility Report                                                             Page 5

Noosa Council
17SUN-0087/1700860