To the Mayor and Councillors
Sunshine Coast Council

Dear Mayor and Councillors,

RE: Formal Request for Pedestrian Safety Investigation and Infrastructure Improvements – Diamond Valley Road

I am writing as a member of the Mooloolah Valley community regarding pedestrian safety along a section of Diamond Valley Road, following the fatal incident in which local resident Nathan Grosse was struck by a vehicle on the night of 23 January 2026.

Nathan was a long-term resident of Diamond Valley Lodge, a supported accommodation and respite facility housing approximately 40 adult residents with a diverse range of disabilities, including individuals who retain personal autonomy and independence, while also having higher needs for care, systems, and environmental support due to limitations in capacity, mobility, and situational awareness. Diamond Valley Lodge is located approximately 1.9 kilometres from the Mooloolah town centre, a distance residents regularly travel on foot or by pushbike during daylight hours and in the evening.

Significant portions of this route present ongoing and well-recognised risks to pedestrians. There is no street lighting along the road, despite overhead electricity infrastructure being present, and approximately 700 metres of the route has no pedestrian footpath, requiring pedestrians to walk on a narrow road shoulder measuring less than 30 centimetres in places. The road includes sharp bends, dips, crests, off-camber corners, hidden driveways, and steep roadside drains and embankments, resulting in limited visibility, particularly at night and in wet conditions; these risks were further compounded on the evening of 23 January by rain and a no-moon night.

At the location of the incident, an unlit footpath and footbridge are present. Local residents have indicated that it was common for pedestrians and cyclists, including Nathan, to use the roadway and follow the high-contrast white road line rather than the pitch-dark footpath, where previous trips and falls had been experienced. It is not known whether this behaviour contributed to the incident.

Traffic crash investigations are currently underway and findings have not yet been released. This correspondence is not intended to pre-empt those findings, but rather to highlight an ongoing public safety concern that exists irrespective of investigative outcomes, particularly given the presence of a high-density population of residents who regularly use this route and rely on appropriate environmental supports for safe mobility.

I respectfully request that Sunshine Coast Council undertake a formal pedestrian safety assessment of this section of Diamond Valley Road and consider practical risk-mitigation measures, including the installation of adequate street lighting and the extension of a continuous, accessible footpath between Diamond Valley Lodge and the Mooloolah township. 

Improved pedestrian safety, adequate lighting, and accessible infrastructure are essential to preventing future tragedies, particularly in communities with residents who require higher levels of support.