STRENGTHENING ROAD SAFETY AND alTERNATIVE TRANSPORT STRATEGIES

The ACT Government has allocated nearly $2.4 million in the 2005-2006 Budget to improve safety on the ACT’s roads and to encourage alternative forms of transport.

Urban Services Minister John Hargreaves today said the funding would enhance the Government’s capacity to ensure compliance with speed limits and parking arrangements, two key strategies for achieving the ACT’s road safety and sustainable transport goals.

As part of the Government’s road safety strategy, $1.05 million in new funding has been provided for the purchase of three new speed cameras and the upgrade of existing ones. An additional $759,000 has been allocated over the next four years to operate the new cameras.

“Not only is speeding a major road safety problem facing the ACT, it is also a key cause of serious and fatal traffic crashes, and speed cameras have proved to be an effective means of ensuring speed limit compliance,” Mr Hargreaves said.

“This initiative will be implemented along with existing road safety measures such as the Road Ready learner driver program and the 50km/h default speed limit in residential areas.

“We still have the best road safety record in Australia but recent crashes on our roads have highlighted the need for further measures if we are to avoid road trauma in our community.  

One of the goals of the Government’s Sustainable Transport Plan is to make parking more efficient and equitable, while encouraging greater use of public transport, and a strategy for achieving this is through pay parking and effective enforcement.

“$560,000 over four years has been made available for additional parking enforcement capacity to strengthen compliance with existing parking arrangements,” Mr Hargreaves said.

“Stronger enforcement of parking arrangements will also improve order and efficiency at our car parks and ensure that dedicated parking spaces, such as those for people with disabilities and emergency vehicles, are available for the intended users.  From 1 October 2005, parking fees will increase by CPI in some locations where fees were last set in July 2000.

“The ACT Government is committed to implementing the Sustainable Transport Plan and other components of The Canberra Plan to address many of the challenges facing our community,” Mr Hargreaves said.
Statement ends