The positive message to come out of today’s announcement on road sharing by Minister Pallas is the recognition that we need to better manage our roads as a limited resource - both from a safety standpoint and in terms of network efficiency.
“We can’t build our way out of problems like congestion with new roads alone. We have to get smarter about how we use what we’ve already got,” says Roads Australia Chief Executive, Ian Webb.
“The principle of rationing and prioritising access to our existing road network is a good one. The challenge is to ensure it’s done fairly.”
Mr Webb says there will always be debate around any new strategy for making our road network more efficient.
“That’s an understandable and necessary part of the process. What’s important is that we keep looking for the solutions.”
Mr Webb says in terms of road safety, there can be no argument about the need to keep cars and trucks as far apart as possible.
Submitted by Mark Bowmer on Wednesday March 3rd 2010 2:39pm