❓ Mr. Hatton asks about the Liberal-National government's efforts to reduce traffic congestion. The Minister for Transport details various initiatives and cites data showing improvements in travel times despite population growth.
AnsweredQoN 823Legislative Assembly
QuestionView source ↗
TRAFFIC CONGESTION — REDUCTION MEASURES
823. Mr C.D. HATTON to the Minister for
Transport:
I know there has been a lot of good
improvement in traffic management of our roads. Can the minister please update
the house on what the Liberal–National government is doing to reduce
congestion on our roads?
823. Mr C.D. HATTON to the Minister for
Transport:
I know there has been a lot of good
improvement in traffic management of our roads. Can the minister please update
the house on what the Liberal–National government is doing to reduce
congestion on our roads?
AnswerView source ↗
I would be delighted to update the
house on what the Liberal–National government is doing to reduce
congestion on the road network, with practical examples and evidence to prove
it.
Mr
P. Papalia interjected.
The SPEAKER : Member for Warnbro!
Mr
W.R. MARMION : The future will be in smart freeways. There will be lane use
management, variable speeds for lanes, and coordinated ramp signals when people
enter the freeway. That will be the future. But the public want to know what we
have done now. What have we delivered? More than 300 low-cost, high-impact
initiatives have been delivered through the program and they have made
significant improvements to the network, particularly on the Kwinana and
Mitchell Freeways. An additional traffic lane on the Mitchell Freeway between
Charles Street and Market Street has improved traffic speed between Vincent and
Market Streets by 15 kilometres an hour, or 65 per cent, during the afternoon
peak period. Four dedicated exit lanes have been created at South Street
southbound and Leach Highway northbound on the Kwinana Freeway, and at Hay Street
northbound and Karrinyup Road northbound on the Mitchell Freeway. In the case
of the Karrinyup Road exit lane, there has been a 15 per cent increase in the
freeway speed between Wellington Street and Karrinyup Road in the afternoon
peak. Merge lanes have been installed at 56 locations across the freeway
network—that is, every freeway entry lane has been addressed by Main
Roads WA—and that has increased average traffic speeds by about nine per
cent between Anketell Road and Russell Road in the morning peak.
In addition, a review of 201 sets of
traffic signals on 20 major routes in Western Australia, covering a total of
145 kilometres, has led to some significant savings in travelling time. I will
give just four examples. There has been a 28 per cent reduction in average
journey times on Stock Road between Marmion Street and Russell Road in the
afternoon peak; a 22 per cent reduction on Great Eastern Highway between Lloyd Street
and Coolgardie Avenue; a 31 per cent reduction in travel time on Orrong Road,
which is a fairly important and busy road, between Francisco Street and Hale Road;
and a 12 per cent improvement on Canning Highway between North Lake Road and
the East Perth Causeway. In the next 12 months, we are going to install further
merge lanes at 31 locations on other highways, including Reid Highway, Roe Highway,
Tonkin Highway and Leach Highway. We will be doing intersection upgrades on
Marmion Avenue at Hepburn and Whitfords Avenues and signal optimisation at 400
other intersections right across the metropolitan area.
Members do not have to take my word
for it or Main Roads' quantitative data; Infrastructure Partnerships
Australia has used big data and has analysed every trip taken by an Uber taxi
over the last three or four quarters—all 5 000 trips by Uber taxis in
Perth, Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane—and it has come up with a model
that delivers a travel time index or a congestion indicator in the major cities
of Australia. The only city in Australia that has had an improvement in congestion
since the third quarter of 2015 is Perth. These are travel times by car, not
just point of stop. In the last year and a half, we have improved congestion in
Western Australia. The argument often is that the population has diminished.
Our population in the metropolitan area has gone up by an average of 30 000
people each year. This indicator shows that we have reduced congestion in the
metropolitan area in Western Australia—it is hard to refute that
information—while our population has gone up at the same time.
house on what the Liberal–National government is doing to reduce
congestion on the road network, with practical examples and evidence to prove
it.
Mr
P. Papalia interjected.
The SPEAKER : Member for Warnbro!
Mr
W.R. MARMION : The future will be in smart freeways. There will be lane use
management, variable speeds for lanes, and coordinated ramp signals when people
enter the freeway. That will be the future. But the public want to know what we
have done now. What have we delivered? More than 300 low-cost, high-impact
initiatives have been delivered through the program and they have made
significant improvements to the network, particularly on the Kwinana and
Mitchell Freeways. An additional traffic lane on the Mitchell Freeway between
Charles Street and Market Street has improved traffic speed between Vincent and
Market Streets by 15 kilometres an hour, or 65 per cent, during the afternoon
peak period. Four dedicated exit lanes have been created at South Street
southbound and Leach Highway northbound on the Kwinana Freeway, and at Hay Street
northbound and Karrinyup Road northbound on the Mitchell Freeway. In the case
of the Karrinyup Road exit lane, there has been a 15 per cent increase in the
freeway speed between Wellington Street and Karrinyup Road in the afternoon
peak. Merge lanes have been installed at 56 locations across the freeway
network—that is, every freeway entry lane has been addressed by Main
Roads WA—and that has increased average traffic speeds by about nine per
cent between Anketell Road and Russell Road in the morning peak.
In addition, a review of 201 sets of
traffic signals on 20 major routes in Western Australia, covering a total of
145 kilometres, has led to some significant savings in travelling time. I will
give just four examples. There has been a 28 per cent reduction in average
journey times on Stock Road between Marmion Street and Russell Road in the
afternoon peak; a 22 per cent reduction on Great Eastern Highway between Lloyd Street
and Coolgardie Avenue; a 31 per cent reduction in travel time on Orrong Road,
which is a fairly important and busy road, between Francisco Street and Hale Road;
and a 12 per cent improvement on Canning Highway between North Lake Road and
the East Perth Causeway. In the next 12 months, we are going to install further
merge lanes at 31 locations on other highways, including Reid Highway, Roe Highway,
Tonkin Highway and Leach Highway. We will be doing intersection upgrades on
Marmion Avenue at Hepburn and Whitfords Avenues and signal optimisation at 400
other intersections right across the metropolitan area.
Members do not have to take my word
for it or Main Roads' quantitative data; Infrastructure Partnerships
Australia has used big data and has analysed every trip taken by an Uber taxi
over the last three or four quarters—all 5 000 trips by Uber taxis in
Perth, Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane—and it has come up with a model
that delivers a travel time index or a congestion indicator in the major cities
of Australia. The only city in Australia that has had an improvement in congestion
since the third quarter of 2015 is Perth. These are travel times by car, not
just point of stop. In the last year and a half, we have improved congestion in
Western Australia. The argument often is that the population has diminished.
Our population in the metropolitan area has gone up by an average of 30 000
people each year. This indicator shows that we have reduced congestion in the
metropolitan area in Western Australia—it is hard to refute that
information—while our population has gone up at the same time.
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