Community input sought on Rural Roads Safety Plan
Published on 12 November 2020
Northern Grampians Shire Council, in partnership with Driscoll Engineering Services Pty Ltd, is preparing a Rural Roads Safety Plan for 2020.
This project is now at the community consultation phase and council is seeking feedback from shire residents on any issues or concerns they may have regarding road safety in the region.
The Rural Roads Safety Plan’s objective is to define the road safety risks within the shire and place a priority on addressing them via road safety prevention works. This work can only be effectively achieved through community consultation as it is the community who uses the road network on a daily basis and has the best understanding of the hazards.
A questionnaire is available on the Northern Grampians Shire Council website www.ngshire.vic.gov.au/RRSP which residents can download, complete and e-mail directly to Driscoll Engineering Services.
Council and Driscoll Engineering Services will use the feedback from the questionnaire to inform a Draft Rural Roads Safety Plan that will be available for public comment in December 2020. From this point, amendments will be made and the Draft Plan finalised in February 2021. A final Rural Roads Safety Plan will be presented to council in March 2021.
Data from VicRoads indicates that in the five year period from 2015 to 2019, there were 13 people killed, 74 people seriously injured and 198 road users who sustained other injuries from crashes in Northern Grampians Shire.
Northern Grampians Shire Council Mayor, Cr Murray Emerson, is a strong advocate for road safety and is keen to see the implementation of the Rural Roads Safety Plan.
“The road safety statistics for our shire over the past five years are quite sobering,” he said.
“Particularly because we know that often people in our community have been directly affected and that the trauma is ongoing.
“I encourage all of our residents to use this opportunity to speak loudly and clearly about the hazards and safety concerns on our shire roads.”
Responses can be submitted via the Northern Grampians Shire Council – Community
Consultation portal or email to kimw@driscolleng.com.au by Friday 20 November 2020.