Page 3048 - Week 10 - Wednesday, 14 August 2013
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witches’ hats from roadworks done a few days back. This is, of course, a common occurrence throughout Canberra.
Another regular sight on ACT roads is slowing down for roadworks but there is no “End roadworks” sign or resumption speed limit sign. Therefore people do not know the appropriate time to speed up again.
These may all seem like trivial issues, but the reality is that what such mismanagement causes is apathy and scepticism towards temporary speed limits. This means that people do not have confidence that the speed limits are justified, and next time people may dangerously drive through a stretch of road which really was required to be speed reduced.
It is my hunch that the problem here is not that the guidelines for temporary traffic arrangements are not detailed enough, but in fact the opposite: they are probably too detailed and too difficult to comply with. Regardless, the current practice is not working, and the government should review how to better manage these issues.
I have unashamedly written to the government, on behalf of constituents, on numerous occasions, asking them to consider whether some traffic calming devices would be appropriate for certain areas. However, I did so on the presumption that the government would make decisions based on evidence and consultation. Unfortunately, we have had too many examples where the government has not taken a reasonable approach to such decision making.
It seems that there are roads in Canberra where traffic calming devices, or even just basic pedestrian road crossing infrastructure, would be seen to be reasonable. Yet the government refuses. One such example is outside St Thomas Aquinas Primary School in Charnwood. I have raised this issue with the government on several occasions, but I have had no success in having the school zone safety improved.
I am proud of the Canberra Liberals’ 2012 election promise to install flashing lights in school zones. I think many motorists inadvertently speed through some school zones, perhaps due to a temporary lapse in concentration and/or poor signage. I think inexpensive flashing lights would help reduce the incidence of speeding in school zones and therefore make our schools safer. St Thomas Aquinas on Lhotsky Street in Charnwood is certainly a prime candidate for such lights.
Another example of mismanagement of roadworks is well known to people in west Belconnen—the Spofforth Street speed hump disaster. This story has been fairly well captured in the media, in particular in the north side Chronicle. An article last year with the headline “Anger at calming measures” spoke about the frustration of many residents of the suburb. I was quoted as saying:
… traffic has gone from 1000 cars a day on Spofforth Street to 300 cars, but those additional 700 cars are now on Beaurepaire and going quickly … If anything, the problem is probably worse.
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