GHD has produced the traffic modelling report, which considers building a bridge, operating two ferries or a larger ferry, or doing nothing. The report has congestion and simulated future traffic conditions.
A single ferry is currently used to take people across the river but the council is keen to develop an enhanced service and is planning to gauge the market and issue a tender. The tender documentation is designed to get the market to respond to key issues such as wait times, maintaining local employment and improving the tourism appeal.
Douglas Shire mayor Julia Leu said that the new report provided clarity about wait times at the Daintree Ferry and analysed the effectiveness of possible solutions. “We now have very reliable data and traffic modelling predictions that we can refer to when making decisions about the Daintree Ferry,” she said. “At this stage, we know there needs to be changes at the Daintree River crossing and a second ferry is putting a strong case forward, but the ultimate decision will be a complex balancing act between what the market can offer, what our community wants and our requirements as a council.
“We are all enthusiastically heading into this tender period with an open mind and look forward to seeing some detailed, innovative solutions that industry experts can propose.”
The council expects tender documentation to be finalised and released to the market by July.
