Road funding for local road networks could play a key role in addressing road safety issues across Western Australia, with 68 per cent of serious crashes currently occurring on local roads. A recent report released by the Western Australian Local Government Association (WALGA) identified a funding shortfall of $120 million per year between the estimated cots of maintaining the local road network and actual funding.
WALGA President, Councillor Bill Mitchell, said that Local Government had, for the past two years, been seeking a partnership with the Western Australian Government to establish a Safer Local Roads Program across the 121,000 kilometres of local road network.
“Local Government manages 72 per cent of the State’s road network, much of which is in need of urgent funding assistance to be maintained,” Councillor Mitchell said. “A key strategy in achieving improved road safety must be the establishment of a forgiving road system, so that when crashes do happen, death can be avoided and injuries minimised.
“Ideally, Local Government would like to take this concept one step further and be able to anticipate problems and address them before crashes occur. However, there is a huge amount of funding required to achieve this vision, and Local Government certainly cannot carry the burden alone.”
Councillor Mitchell said WALGA was seeking funding of $80 million over four years to establish the Safer Local Roads Program, which equates to just half a per cent of the estimated community costs of road crashes.
“There is a safer roads program for main roads and highways, why not for local roads?” Councillor Mitchell said. “Local Government is committed to achieving a significant reduction in road trauma and we are seeking a true partnership with the State Government in working towards this aim.”
For further information contact Councillor Mitchell on 0427 171 896.
