The 2022-23 ACT Budget will improve road safety and promote active travel by upgrading five significant intersections, delivering more pedestrian crossings and advancing construction of the second stage of the Belconnen Bikeway.
These works will add to the ACT Government's major infrastructure pipeline, creating more good jobs as we work towards our goal of 250,000 local jobs by 2025.
The five intersections are on Canberra's southside, located at: Streeton Drive/Namatjira Drive, Streeton Drive/Heysen Street, Tharwa Drive/Lawrence Wackett Crescent, Tharwa Drive/Norman Lindsay Street and Hume Circle which connects Canberra Avenue, Sturt Avenue and Wentworth Avenue.
More than 20,000 vehicles use the road network each day between Weston Creek, Tuggeranong and Woden, with the two Streeton Drive 'seagull' intersections becoming increasingly busy with nearby development. The works will include installation of traffic lights to improve safe crossings options for pedestrians and vehicles and improvements to the surrounding path network.
On Tharwa Drive, the works will include installation of traffic lights at the intersection with Lawrence Wackett Crescent, and safety improvements will be funded at the Norman Lindsay Street intersection near Lanyon Marketplace following a feasibility study.
The Government will also progress preliminary design work for safety improvements at Hume Circle, which has one of the worst accident records for intersections in Canberra. All of these works will be supported by joint funding from the Australian Government.
As part of the next two tranches of the national Road Safety Program with the Australian Government, we will deliver a number of projects supporting students to walk and cycle safely to school. This will include construction of three new pedestrian crossings near Gold Creek High School and Mary MacKillop College. A branch of the Belconnen Bikeway project will also be funded on Haydon Drive from Battye St to Calvary Hospital and ACT Government will propose to co-fund the installation of audio tactile line marking and safety barriers on Brindabella Road.
We will also continue to advocate for the ACT's fair share of funding from the Australian Government for upgrades to Canberra's regional roads. The 2022-23 ACT Budget proposes joint funding for upgrades on the unsealed sections of Boboyan Road within the Namadgi National Park. These upgrades will improve the safety of this regional connection for residents, park visitors and emergency services. Negotiations are continuing with the Australian Government on a fair funding split for these works, which reflects the approach to regional road upgrades taken in other jurisdictions (including the same road in NSW).
Quotes attributable to Andrew Barr ACT Chief Minister
Our investment in infrastructure is focused on maintaining Canberra's place as the most liveable in the world – attractive, safe and easy to move around in.
Projects like these not only support our growing population, but they help create and protect good local jobs.
Quotes attributable to Minister for Transport and City Services Chris Steel
I'm pleased to announce more than $24 million dollars in the 2022-23 ACT Budget, supported by the Australian Government, to improve safety on the ACT's road network and support local jobs.
These improvements to intersections will support the delivery of election commitments in Weston Creek and Lanyon, and further priority projects will improve safety on our roads in Theodore and the Inner South.
The ACT Government welcomes continued investment in our city by the Australian Government to co-fund these urban road projects, but we strongly believe the ACT should receive the same share of funding for improvements for regional roads as other states.
