Page 117 - Week 01 - Wednesday, 13 February 2019
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(h) the ACT Government is continuing the development of individual traffic management plans for every school in accordance with the Parliamentary Agreement, including consideration of further safety measures such as flashing lights;
(2) further notes that:
(a) the ACT Government is making a record level of investment in public transport and an integrated transport network;
(b) the new bus network has been designed to encourage more students to use public transport, give families greater choice and help offer students greater flexibility while getting them to school on time. Every school in Canberra will be serviced by the new bus network; and
(c) currently around 60 percent of students who catch a bus to school use the regular network and there will more buses servicing schools in the new network; and
(3) calls on the ACT Government to provide a report to the Assembly by the last sitting week of 2019:
(a) on the results of the School Crossing Program evaluation and preparation of traffic management plans for schools; and
(b) on an implementation plan for additional actions, informed by the evaluation and traffic management planning process.”.
I am glad to have the opportunity to speak today regarding the safety of schoolchildren. Of course, the government and I agree that the safety of schoolchildren travelling to and from school is of paramount importance. The ACT government takes a strategic and holistic approach to improving road safety around schools, recognising that every school is different in terms of its physical location and relationship with the road and shared path network.
Madam Speaker, there are no silver-bullet solutions to solving the challenge of road safety near schools, and you cannot just roll out measures such as flashing lights and think that that in itself will resolve problems at all schools. The government will be working with all schools to develop tailored and individual plans and will look at a number of possible measures, which could include lights if that is what is required.
Over the past three years the ACT government has invested over $6 million to deliver behaviour change programs, infrastructure improvements and on-the-ground support, all supported by dedicated resourcing within the Transport Canberra and City Services Directorate. A key component of this investment has been ACT Labor’s 2016 election commitment to establish school crossing supervisors to support the safe travel of children to and from school. Also of relevance is the government’s record level of investment in public transport and integrated transport networks, which include active travel infrastructure as well as active travel programs.
Trips to school make up a large part of daily traffic on our roads. This has an impact on congestion and road safety within school environments. It will take a strategic and holistic approach to get more kids out of cars and onto bikes, walking or onto a bus. One of the government’s key achievements is the schools program within TCCS. This
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