An extra lane at Birkdale tip will be built to ease traffic chaos at the Old Cleveland Road East site.
At Wednesday’s general meeting, Redland City Council allocated $278,000 in this year’s RedWaste budget to widen the road.
The move will allow cars with green waste to bypass the weighbridge at peak times, cutting queues and traffic jams.
An officer report claimed demand for tipping green waste was on the rise, especially on weekends.
It said the extra lane would allow those with residential passes to dump green waste without having to line up in a queue for the weighbridge.
The report also blamed the traffic jams and delays at the tip on the lack of bins near the gatehouse and only one weighbridge.
Councillors voted unanimously to spend the money, deciding against forking out up to $2million for a second weighbridge and upgrading the Old Cleveland Road East intersection.
A $370,000 plan to build a one-way road, a second gatehouse and boom gate was knocked back along with a $750,000 plan for weighbridges, bypass lanes and licence plate cameras.
Division 2 councillor Craig Ogilvie said the traffic chaos was to be expected after the council ditched tip fees following its election in 2012.
Cr Ogilvie said abolishing tip fees resulted in 40 per cent more traffic to the tip and shifted the cost of running the facility from those who don’t use it to those who do.
He said the extra patronage had put the tip under strain resulting in the necessary $278,000 road upgrade.
Division 4 councillor Julie Talty, who voted for the upgrade, said it would improve safety at the tip.
Mayor Karen Williams said she had no intention of reinstating gate tip fees, unless the majority of residents asked for them to be reintroduced.
“Residents of Redlands expect us to provide tips as a service, just like we provide sporting fields,” she said.
“If that were to change we would have to reassess funding other services the council provides such as libraries.”
WHAT DO YOU THINK? Should tip fees be reinstated
