RAC welcomes the announcement that the WA Liberals will commit $100 million in funding to local government roads if elected.
RAC General Manager External Relations Will Golsby said the announcement is another important step in delivering funding towards safety treatments on local government roads, including widening, sealed shoulders, and audible centre and edge lines.
“RAC has continued to call out the need for a total of $552 million to be allocated to fund over 8,200 km of high speed sealed local government,” Mr Golsby said.
“Under the shadow of last year being the worst year for road trauma in almost a decade this funding announcement provides the opportunity to ensure this initiative can be up and running with the aim of saving lives and stopping serious injuries on roads across regional Western Australia as soon as possible.”
Between 2019 and 2023 more than 500 people lost their lives and over 2,700 were seriously injured on WA’s regional roads.
Half of these crashes occurred on local government roads.
Apart from the immeasurable personal and social impacts, the financial cost of road trauma is estimated to be $2.4 billion per year.
“According to the WA Road Safety Commission, 75 per cent of people killed on regional roads live in the local shire or the shire next door, so the benefits of funding low-cost road safety solutions will be felt in local homes and communities,” Mr Golsby said.
“It’s now crucial that federal funding is also provided alongside further investment from the state to ensure this initiative can be fully funded and delivered as soon as possible.
"It is also critical the existing Regional Road Safety Program remains in place and is completed as well.”
Funding these programs will assist with the delivery of Driving Change: A Road Safety Strategy for Western Australia 2020–2030 and the National Road Safety Strategy 2021-30.
In addition, they respond to Infrastructure Australia’s priority listing: Regional Road Network Safety Improvements, and also strongly align with other priority listings, including Regional and Rural WA Road Network Safety Improvements, and Road Access Improvements to Remote WA Communities.
ENDS
Media contact: RAC media team, 0401 703 719 or media@rac.com.au
