New road surface to tackle hoons

Trials are underway in the Moreton Bay Region to tackle hooning.

A calcite bauxite treatment, with anti-skid properties, has been put down at two intersections on Forgan Rd, Joyner and at Bult Dve, Brendale.

Moreton Bay Regional Council will monitor it for nine months for surface noise, how it stands up to daily traffic and if it stops hoons.

The surface will not damage tyres under normal conditions, such as when people drive to the road rules and conditions.

After the trial period council will decide whether to roll it out at other hooning hotspots, identified from residents’ complaints.

Bult Dve, in Brendale’s industrial area, was chosen to measure the surface under heavy vehicle use and intersections on Forgan Rd after complaints to Councillor Cath Tonks (Div 9).

“We are doing this because hooning is wrong on so many fronts,” Mayor Peter Flannery said.

“It’s dangerous to the public going about their lawful business. It impacts nearby residents, motorists who have to share the road with these hoons and pedestrians.

“We’re working with residents and businesses and so far we haven’t had any more reports of hooning in the locations with the new road surface.”

The Mayor said it was expected to be an “ongoing program" covering larger areas where there is hooning "so people can’t just move to the next intersection and do burn-outs there instead".

“Council also has mobile camera units we can install in known hooning hotspots, and we can share footage with police,” he said. “Hoons are warned that it’s only a matter of time.”

Cr Tonks said: "On Forgan Road, residents have been reporting regular instances of a lot of hooning noise, speeding vehicles, with tyre marks and rubber being left behind at the intersections.

“Many Brendale business owners also got in touch with me as they were impacted by the damage and rubbish left behind by the hooning activity.

“Sunday nights were particularly bad, with masses of people gathering, doing burn-outs and leaving behind tyre marks, beer bottles, a terrible smell of burnt rubber - and even tyres.

“The business owners would quite often clean up the area after larger hooning events just so they could trade the next day."