Halfway through the year, the road toll for 2024 is already higher than for all of last year: six people have been killed in motor accidents, compared to only four in 2023. Across Australia, more than 1,300 people were killed between May 2023 and May 2024.
“One death is one too many,” Tara Cheyne, ACT Minister for City Services, said. “The consequences for a person’s family or their friends and the broader community is tragic and enormously regrettable.
“We all have a responsibility – whether it’s the federal government, local and state governments, as well as people in the community – to be road users who are careful, considerate, and sensitive to the needs around us…
“We have a vision of zero deaths, and we do believe that that can be met, but we all have a rôle to play in ensuring that it can be achieved.”
To that end, Ms Cheyne and Carol Brown, federal minister for infrastructure and transport, in the company of Labor MP for Canberra Alicia Payne, yesterday announced a joint funding of $10 million to reduce deaths and injuries on Canberra roads under the national Road Safety program.
These “comprehensive road safety measures [are] put in place not just for drivers, but for pedestrians and for cyclists,” Senator Brown said.
The 18 projects include new cycleways and crossings on cycle routes to Kingston, Belconnen, Woden and the Inner North. The second stage of the Kingston Cycleway entails a separated cycleway from the Kingston Foreshore to Canberra Railway Station. The first stage, on Bowen Drive, opened earlier this year.
Infrastructure improvements – speed cushions, slower speed limits, and safe crossing facilities – will be installed near schools and shops in Kambah, Weston, Palmerston, and Jamison.
Road safety barriers will be installed on Brindabella Road and Molonglo Valley Road.
An ACT Policing spokesman said: “We welcome any investment to help improve road safety and reduce road trauma in the ACT, especially for improvements that help protect vulnerable road users, such as pedestrians, cyclists, and motorcyclists.”
2022 was a horror year for road fatalities in the ACT: 18 deaths, the highest in a dozen years, but 2023 saw fewer deaths.
An ACT Policing spokesperson attributed this decrease to significant targeting and arrests of dangerous driving offenders, particularly recidivist offenders targeted by Operation TORIC, as well as additional community engagement and campaign work by both ACT Policing and the ACT Government.
“This all contributed to a reduction in some of the more reckless driving incidents.”
The top five contributing factors to death or serious injury on ACT roads are speeding; alcohol or drug-impaired driving; driver distractions; failure to obey traffic lights and signs; and failure to wear a seat-belt.
“While the number of people who lose their lives on ACT roads is concerning, crashes that result in serious injuries are equally concerning,” the spokesman said.
“It is every driver’s responsibility to drive safely on our roads – for their own and every other road user’s safety. We want to see all Canberrans driving safely on our roads so they can get home to their family and friends.”
The Federal Government has increased funding for its Black Spot Program (improving crash locations) from $110 to $150 million each year; doubled Roads to Recovery (upkeep of local roads) funding from $500 million to $1 billion; and harmonised national data collection.
“Road safety is a critical issue for each and every one of us,” Senator Brown said. “It is an issue the Albanese government takes seriously, and this funding commitment is part of our commitment to enhance road safety and to bring down the road toll. Unfortunately, too many people are killed on our roads, and far too many have their lives changed forever. It’s this sort of funding investment that we will invest in comprehensive road safety measures that will … bring down the road toll.”
Pedal Power ACT
“Pedal Power ACT welcomes any and all investment into active travel in Canberra, and there are some very important projects on this list,” executive director Dr Simon Copland said. “We are particularly glad to see the ACT Government commit to building the Kingston Cycleway through to the foreshore and the train station. This is a busy area for pedestrians and cyclists, and this project is long needed. We’re also happy to see further investment in raised pedestrian crossings and safety improvements around schools.
“Unfortunately, however, this funding is still a drop in the ocean, and we need to see much more invested in active travel in Canberra.
“The ACT Government has rightfully identified that we need to see significant mode shifts in Canberra, which means encouraging more people onto bikes and to use other forms of active travel. Yet, this year, we’ve actually seen a decrease in active travel funding compared to the 2023/24 budget.
“The Government also has no realistic timeline or plan for how they are going to implement their much-lauded Active Travel Plan. There are major, much needed, projects – such as a separated cycle path along Northbourne Avenue, the Woden-City cycle route, and investment in areas such as Western Belconnen – that are not getting funded.
“The Government can’t claim this is due to a lack of money, given they are currently investing hundreds of millions of dollars in road duplications around the city (Athlon Drive, William Hovell Drive, and the Monaro Highway), despite decades of research showing that duplications don’t help ease road congestion.
“Just cancelling one of these projects and investing all that money in active travel would make a huge difference in this area, but the Government does not have the political will to do that.”
