Article Updated: 04/08/2026
Transport and Main Roads has confirmed it is actively working on a design for a pedestrian crossing on Obi Obi Road in Mapleton, going further than the “options” language State Member for Nicklin Marty Hunt used when discussing his community survey, which remains open. A TMR spokesperson said: “TMR is continuing investigations and preparing a design concept for a pedestrian crossing treatment on Obi Obi Road, Mapleton.” No timeframe has been given for when any works would begin.
TMR figures previously obtained by Range Community News show no recorded crashes on the relevant stretch between 2015 and 2025, and average daily traffic of 1,022 vehicles in 2025, well below the volumes at which crossings are typically warranted. Whatever design TMR settles on will have to be weighed against that record.
“More than 170 people responded to my community feedback survey on pedestrian safety along Obi Obi Road in Mapleton, providing valuable feedback about what the community would like to see,” Mr Hunt said. “The feedback was mixed, with many respondents supporting improved pedestrian safety and the idea of installing a pedestrian crossing or refuge near the Mapleton business district. There was also clear recognition of the importance of retaining existing car parking.”
Mr Hunt said he had asked TMR’s traffic engineers for advice “while taking both pedestrian safety and parking into consideration.” Any formal crossing would trigger Queensland’s mandatory 30-metre no-parking zone either side of it, a rule this publication detailed in its earlier coverage, so the parking concern respondents raised is not a hypothetical one.
What 170-Plus Responses Do and Don’t Show
More than 170 responses is a solid result for a village the size of Mapleton, and the survey is still open, so the number is likely to grow. It is worth being precise about what it shows, though. The survey sits on Mr Hunt’s own website, which serves the whole Nicklin electorate, and no breakdown of respondents’ locations or overall response rate has been published. The tally reflects how many people have engaged with the survey, not what share of Mapleton’s roughly 1,660 residents hold a particular view, and it should be treated as one input rather than a mandate. It is also a different exercise to MADCA’s 2022 petition, which used a different method for a narrower request and led to the 40km/h limit introduced in 2023. The two aren’t directly comparable.
What the Parking Survey Actually Found
MADCA president Peter Gamgee pointed to two earlier pieces of work as informing the association’s position: a Mapleton Streetscape study and a parking survey. Range Community News has since been provided with a parking survey report, conducted in August 2023 and finalised that October, understood to be one of the two. The streetscape study has not been supplied and is not addressed here.
The report drew respondents overwhelmingly from Mapleton and the immediate local area, and skewed older, with 85 per cent aged 45 or over. On the central question of whether parking in the village centre is sufficient, opinion was close to even: 55 per cent said yes, 45 per cent said no. Asked to rank priorities, respondents placed free parking highest, ahead of improved safety and expansion of off-street parking. The report’s own discussion section notes this as a genuine tension rather than a clear mandate, observing that “no change,” “improve safety” and “more parking” were three distinct camps among respondents, and that the 40km/h limit introduced in 2023 may not have been fully factored into some responses.
On a crossing specifically, the report is more precise. It estimates a best-case loss of four of the seven on-street spaces on each side near the crossing, eight in total, and notes that removing parking from the pub side of the street alone would cost seven spaces. The report’s authors describe both options as desirable only if the lost parking can be replaced elsewhere, and floats options including marking additional bays on Post Office Road, Flaxton Drive and further along Obi Obi Road, and the village buying the block next to the Bowls Club for off-street parking. That last suggestion was the most popular off-street option in the report; it does not reference the primary school grounds Peter proposed, which appears to be his own suggestion rather than one drawn from this survey. The report does support Peter’s point on accessibility, recording additional disabled parking as one of the more common concerns raised.
As with Mr Hunt’s survey, this report doesn’t state a total respondent count or response rate, so it’s best read the same way: a genuine body of local opinion rather than a representative sample.
Peter’s own view is that the crossing shouldn’t be considered in isolation. “It is important that any consideration for the pedestrian crossing also consider the whole streetscape, traffic and parking situation, to address documented compliance and safety issues and increase the available parking spaces,” he said.
On the recent increase in parking along Flaxton Drive, TMR has told Range Community News that while Flaxton Drive is a state-controlled road, on-street parking provision is a local government responsibility on both council and state-controlled roads, and referred parking questions to Sunshine Coast Council. That leaves open who was actually behind the Flaxton Drive change, and Range Community News is seeking clarification from council.
Not All Traders See Parking as the Deciding Factor
Natalie Lindner, who runs Lindner Family Pharmacy on Obi Obi Road, offered a different view. She hadn’t heard of the survey before being contacted, but said she thought it was “a great idea.” She described the Post Office Road intersection as “hectic and a bit dangerous” for pedestrians given its proximity to the school and a bus stop, and nominated the stretch from the library across to the fish and chip shop as her preferred crossing location.
On parking, Natalie said her business relies on the spaces directly outside, but customers also use parking behind the shops and along the side street, and she expected any impact from losing some on-street spaces to be minimal. Asked whether cheaper signage would suit her better than a formal crossing, she said it would not: “We want our community to be safe and accessible for pedestrians.” Hers is one trader’s view rather than a strip-wide one, and Range Community News has approached other Obi Obi Road businesses for comment.
What Happens Next
TMR has confirmed it is preparing a design concept for a crossing on Obi Obi Road, but has given no timeframe for when any works might begin. The pedestrian safety survey remains open on Mr Hunt’s website. Mr Hunt’s office is separately gathering feedback on the unsealed downhill section of Obi Obi Road, a distinct survey open at tinyurl.com/ObiObiRd.
Marty Hunt MP, Pedestrian Survey
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