Roads Act 1993 review issues

Action for Public Transport (NSW) Inc. is a transport advocacy group which has been active in Sydney since 1974. We promote the interests of beneficiaries of public transport - passengers and the wider community alike.

Discussion

Where possible, specific discussion of a matter is located under its question below.

Question 4.0

What is currently working well?
Please provide examples of what is currently working well when working under the Roads Act 1993

Questions 4.1

How could the Act be changed to enable more community uses for roads and streets? (select all that apply)
- Define the different objectives for roads and streets
  These are academic while ever there are so many stroads to obscure the situation.
- Include outcomes for safety, public health and the environment in the objects of the Act
  Safety: the NSW annual road deaths toll has fallen from about 1200 in the 1970s to less than 400 today. We do not expect significant further reductions unless/until all vehicles are fitted with equipment that enforces road rules and communicates with other vehicles nearby to minimise collision risks.
- Simplify the types of roads and streets defined in the Act
  No, there should be stroad types between roads and streets.
- Include desired outcomes for the design and operation of local streets and civic spaces
- Other (please specify)
How can safety be better considered in the planning, administration and management of roads?
How can the Act better recognise the public health and environmental benefits of roads and streets?
Correction: roads and streets with cars on them do not have public health and environmental benefits. They may well have economic and social benefits.
What other community issues would you like to raise in relation to the Act?

Questions 4.2

How can The Act be improved to ensure that it considers each category of road user?
In recent years, unregistered light vehicles have joined bicycles to form a significant class of road users. Unfortunately, many of them are illegal under current NSW law. Some of them are capable of speeds that should preclude mixing them with pedestrians. The Roads Act should lay the foundation for controlling light vehicles and ensuring they don't clash with pedestrian safety.
Share your personal experience in navigating the Act to provide for a specific group of road users.
What other issues would you like to raise for accommodating all road users?
In discussions of road usage, environmental social and economic effects may exist and will need to be considered.

Questions 4.3

What issues have you experienced due to overlapping classification systems to determine roles and responsibilities for NSW roads? (select all that apply)
- Confusion between legal, functional and administrative systems
- Hard to find which legal classification applies to which road segment
- Confusion about who has authority for which segment of road
- Too many legal classifications
- Other (please specify)
  There should be more mechanism to apply strategic road planning (e.g. prohibition of roadside retail) to enforcement by local government.
^* How could the system of road classification in the Act be improved?

Questions 4.4

What issues have you experienced with parallel approval processes under the NSW planning system and the Act?
- Extra time/cost associated with parallel Roads Act 1993 approvals
- Confusion with different processes for the Roads Act 1993 and land use related approvals
  It was observed 55 years ago that land use and transport should be planned together². There should be no such confusion.
- Conflicting advice from roads and land use agencies or areas of council
- Other (please specify)
Can you provide further information on the issues you have experienced?
If you've experienced differences in approach to road network planning and land use planning, how have these affected your work?

Questions 4.5

How could the Act make roles and responsibilities clearer for decision making? (select all that apply)
- Agree to how the network is operated between road authorities
- Less focus on individual regulatory signs and lines on local neighbourhood streets with low traffic volume
- Codify 30-year-old practices that work in the Delegation into the Act
- Align network plans with decision making roles based on risk and network implications
- Other (please specify)
Describe your experience of using the Delegation to Councils and any improvements which could be made.
Describe your experience of using the Temporary Delegation to Councils and if this approach is more streamlined to regulate traffic and deliver local street and place improvements.

Questions 4.6

What improvements can be made to the Act to increase flexibility in response to natural disasters?
How can the permit approval process for installing works and structures, undertaking road works, events and activates be made clearer and more consistent across all Road Authorities?
How could compliance and penalty frameworks be changed to address environment and safety compliance?

Questions 4.7

What regulatory features should be tested to ensure the Act can accommodate emerging technologies and new approaches? (select all that apply)
- Ability to change the primary intended function or use of a street at different times of day or days of the year
- Area wide speed zone reduction on local neighbourhood streets delegated to councils
- Regulation of traffic on local neighbourhood streets and covic [sic] spaces delegated to councils
- Other (please specify)
Which provisions in the Act and the Environmental Planning and Assessment Act could benefit from regulatory experimentation?
How could these Acts better support new developments in sustainability?

Conclusions

While the present review might be intended to rectify several problems of the 1993 Act, much more could be done involving other legislation and practices.

Action for Public Transport (N.S.W.) Inc.

Roads Act 1993 Review

Submission on Issues Paper

Introduction

Discussion

Conclusions

Recommendation