Page 124 - Week 01 - Wednesday, 13 February 2019
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . . Video
There is a dangerous culture of speeding in Canberra that we need to reflect on. This is clear from survey data such as data commissioned through the road safety area in the JACS Directorate showing that Canberrans self-report a high degree of speeding. Canberrans admit to speeding. They do it frequently, and this is clearly something we need to change in the context of thinking about road safety and about vision zero.
One of the important changes we made in the road safety space was to ensure that mobile speed cameras can operate in school zones. Until a couple of years ago when I amended the regulations, that was not the case. I think this is a good change that is acting as a constant reminder to people that they need to slow down in speed zones and is also providing and enforcing the mechanism. Unfortunately, it will take some people getting a fine for them to perhaps get the focus on what they need to do.
What I can let the Assembly know is that, on average, there are 25 sites across the ACT every week that are monitored by the road safety cameras, the mobile speed vans. That is quite a comprehensive coverage, and certainly it is not just a random one. Where there are particular cases reported where a school or parents might express particular concerns, a more targeted approach can go on. A school might see the vans a couple of times in a month as part of a more targeted approach.
Another point I would like to raise about safety around schools is the issue of travel mode to school. There has been a significant shift in the past few decades away from children walking and riding to school towards parents driving their children to school. This was highlighted in a presentation Minister Stephen-Smith and I saw last night at the Inner South Canberra Community Council about walking infrastructure presented by Living Streets (Canberra) where they again highlighted this exact figure.
In 1970 nearly all young people in Australia walked, cycled or took public transport to school or university. And when I say “nearly all”, that was 84 per cent, and only 16 per cent travelled by car. A 2018 survey showed that two in three Australian children and teenagers are being driven to school. That is an extraordinary turnaround. There are many factors behind it. The recent survey identified parental peer pressure as a reason parents drive their children to school. Another survey showed parents were choosing this option for convenience. One of the results of this, apart from declining health, is that school areas are more dangerous for children. More cars and more driving means more danger for children. That is simply a reality.
School areas are becoming increasingly congested and increasingly fraught to navigate. Partly, this is a symptom of Canberra continuing to grow as a car-dominated city. As the Greens have said many times before, this needs to change. We can have a more sustainable city that favours public transport and active transport. This not only creates a more sustainable and livable city, it will create a safer city for everyone including our school children.
As I said, this was quite a topic of conversation at the Inner South Canberra Community Council last night where the spokesperson for Living Streets (Canberra) highlighted the fact that so much of our infrastructure has been designed for the rapid movement of cars. As pedestrians, it can be particularly intimidating to try to cross
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . . Video