Page 393 - Week 02 - Wednesday, 2 March 1994
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off so that they could live in a cul-de-sac and have the convenience of the quietness of a cul-de-sac and being able to whip to and from work on other roads, other residents who lived in the next street did not want the street to be blocked off because they needed to go down the street to get to their own street. The Government adopts the consultative model. The local community traffic options surveys that we go through are a very expensive process. It involves the expenditure of - - -
Mrs Carnell: And then you ignore them.
MR CONNOLLY: No, that is not so. We probably ignore what you said. You probably did not say that you wanted the street blocked off or you did not want a traffic calming device outside your house; but the general community did not want the street blocked off, so we gave them traffic calming. I can show you the result of the survey, which was that there be no action. We do look from time to time at low level traffic calming, but it is a difficult problem which I do not think any government will ever solve to the 100 per cent satisfaction of the community, because different groups in the community have deeply entrenched, diametrically opposite views.
MS SZUTY: I ask a supplementary question, Madam Speaker. Given that the residents in the local area do now not want their street blocked off, will the Minister consider some traffic calming measures which are appropriate along Bateman Street?
MR CONNOLLY: I will certainly ask my traffic engineers for some advice on what may be appropriate, what is feasible and what is consistent with the previous consultation model.
Ms Ellis: It is a very big street.
MR CONNOLLY: It is, as Ms Ellis points out, a very long street and traffic calming devices tend to be effective in the lower streets or where you want to divert traffic away from an area. The survey we did on number plates did indicate that the bulk of the traffic on both Bateman Street and Learmonth Drive is local area traffic. There is a widely held view in the community that it is used as a rat run, but when we did the number plate survey - where we actually take the number plates of the vehicles and run them through the computer to see where they are registered - the bulk was local area traffic, so it is a problem.
Hilmer Report
MR LAMONT: My question is directed to the Chief Minister. Chief Minister, is it true, as the current spokesperson for the Opposition on financial matters, Mr Kaine, has claimed on radio, that the adoption of the Hilmer report recommendations will result in State and Territory governments wasting money in competition with each other?
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