Page 2625 - Week 08 - Thursday, 14 August 2014
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For many years the shortfall was blamed on wet weather, but this year the government has a new excuse. Apparently last year the government was unable to meet its target because of an increase in costs. That is not good enough; it should have been anticipated. If the only thing stopping the government reaching its target is the cost of materials then either the budget for resurfacing needs to be increased or the government needs to find a cheaper supplier of the said components. We are all aware of the issues with chip seal, which is noisy and messy. However, if the government could find other ways to reduce costs that do not include a reduction in the quality of work then I would certainly be in favour of it. I note that the government has commenced a trial of a slurry seal and I think that is a worthwhile experiment. I hope that it is a success and that it does prove to be a good option or a good alternative for resealing roads when required.
Unfortunately, the government does not have a good track record when it comes to roadworks. Often the works are poorly planned and of poor quality. Of course, one such example was the resurfacing at Cooleman Court in January. Canberrans are rightly frustrated by the way that roadworks are managed in the territory. Constituents regularly contact me and other members of this place about the state of roads and the significant delays caused by roadworks. I do not think people have too much of a problem with the fact that roads need to be worked on, but people tend to have particular frustrations when the signage around roadworks is not accurate, when the speed limits do not physically reflect the risks posed by the said roadworks, or the timing of the said roadworks is inappropriate.
Everyone accepts that roadworks have to take place and that, when they do, they will cause some delays. People are reasonable and will try to avoid the area if they know that there is work going on. The fact that works take so long to be completed and are so poorly signed is what can frustrate people a lot. When speed limits are reduced for long stretches of road with no apparent work, people can become complacent, and that can devalue times in the future when reduced speed limits are justified. When multiple roads in one area are all being worked on at the same time, it is no surprise that many people get annoyed. Roads ACT should be more careful about planning roadworks to minimise disruption where possible.
I am pleased that this government is finally making some improvements to Gundaroo Drive. However, more work needs to be done, especially up towards the town centre end. The improvements to the roundabout at the intersection of William Slim Drive and the Barton Highway I hope will go some way towards improving traffic issues on that road. However, I must say, Madam Assistant Speaker, that I am not convinced and I look forward to finding out more information about what it has proposed. The estimates committee has recommended that Roads ACT consult on the temporary management plans for the intersection upgrade, and I think that is vital. I hope the government will take this recommendation on board and will do everything it can to minimise the disruption caused by this major piece of roadwork.
Parking, of course, is still a tremendous issue in Canberra. The government has finally updated the parking machines, having spoken for many years about upgrading to credit card machines. In fact, it was in 2012 that the ACT Liberal Party released a
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