Page 1875 - Week 05 - Wednesday, 2 May 2012
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major collector road operating at a 60 kilometres per hour speed limit. Recent traffic data from Roads ACT suggests that the street is presently operating within its capacity as indicated in the ACT residential development code. Concerning road safety, crash records in Roads ACT show that there have been 13 reported vehicle crashes in Coyne Street—I think it is the top end from Jackie Howe through to Bugden—during the last five years.
When compared to similar streets in the ACT, Coyne Street is presently not ranked as a high priority for road improvement programs managed by the TAMS Directorate. Mr Seselja wrote to the Chief Minister on 5 April this year, on behalf of a constituent, about the Coyne Street road safety issues. In the response the Chief Minister advised Mr Seselja that Roads ACT would further investigate traffic issues on Coyne Street. Depending on the outcome of this investigation, and subject to other priority traffic safety measures on the Road ACT program, further traffic calming measures may be implemented in Coyne Street to complement the yellow hazard signs erected last year.
The Chief Minister has undertaken to provide the results of the ACT Roads investigation to Mr Seselja, and, as I understand it, the Chief Minister will be pleased to report to the Assembly in June this year. In comparison to other Australian jurisdictions, the ACT has an established and well-designed road system, a general urban environment and a small, well-defined geographic area. Nevertheless, road crashes remain a significant issue for ACT residents.
The government, through Roads ACT, has existing programs to manage and improve the ACT road system. This is in addition to safety improvements funded under minor new works programs and capital upgrades programs. Road safety will always be an important consideration in the planning, design and construction of our new roads.
In order to provide structure and focus for its road safety activities the ACT government has created the ACT road safety strategy and action plan. This plan applies the four Es—encouragement, education, enforcement and engineering—to address road safety issues. The strategy provides a framework for addressing ACT road safety concerns over the next 10 years. The action plan provides a list of items to be progressed over three years from 2011 aligned with the short-term initiatives in the national road safety strategy 2011-20.
The previous road safety strategy 2007-10 and its supporting action plans were based on an integrated approach to improving road safety, using a range of education, encouragement, engineering, enforcement, evaluation and support measures. The new strategy for 2011-20 continues this integrated approach, but with a stronger vision element based on Vision Zero, more robust application of national “safe system” principles and stronger measures to address cultural change.
The strategy and the action plan are also designed to support the ACT implementation of the national road safety strategy 2011-20. The strategy adopts and complements the principles of the national strategy, in particular its visions, targets and focus on the safe system approach.
As I have said, the ACT government takes road safety very seriously, is committed to reducing the number of accidents on our roads and has strategies and actions to
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