Mr MITCHELL - 1995-11-28
A major issue, which remains of concern to many Territorians and members of this House, is vehicles speeding on residential streets. This exposes children, the elderly and the general public to great danger. Recently, I held discussions with some Darwin City Council staff in relation to Sabine Road, Rapid Creek Road and other roads in my electorate. The government has made funds available to assist local councils to address this problem. How is this matter progressing?
ANSWER
Mr Speaker, there would not be a member who holds an urban seat who is not concerned about traffic in the suburbs and who has not been approached by constituents in relation to this problem. Certainly, I have been approached by any number of people in my electorate. They are concerned about speeding, and the associated noise and nuisance of traffic in the suburbs. This applies not only in Darwin and Alice Springs. Indeed, I received a letter recently from the local government council at Yuendumu, requesting that a 40 km speed limit be imposed in that township. That council shares the same basic concerns.
It was with this in mind that, prior to the last election, the government promised to take action to quieten suburban streets and undertake necessary works to calm traffic using those streets. We offered Darwin City Council $200 000 dollar-for-dollar funding on an annual basis. The purpose of such funding is for the implementation of programs throughout the Territory to carry out such works. I am pleased to advise that Alice Springs Town Council has adopted a roads management strategy. It consulted widely with members of the community and it is implementing that roads management strategy. However, we are experiencing severe difficulties with Darwin City Council. A previous Minister for Transport and Works implemented a trial 50 km speed limit in the suburb of Leanyer. Unfortunately, that has not been extended to other suburbs.
I have had officers of my department discuss various proposals at length with Darwin City Council. The only positive response we have obtained is that it wants to conduct surveys and professional consultations. My response is that there are any number of members of this House who can consult with Darwin City Council as to the wishes of the electorate, and Darwin City Council has at least 12 members who can consult with members of the public. This government will not commit funds merely for consultation. We are happy to spend $200 000 this year to undertake works. The people of Darwin are screaming out for action to calm traffic in the suburbs. It is not only a matter of speeding, but noise and nuisance also. The Darwin City Council should act more responsibly in this matter. It is a demand from ratepayers. It has chosen to ignore that demand and make no decision other than to attempt to spend $40 000 of government money on further consultations when, in terms of ordinary speed bumps, that would provide 10 or 12 ramps. We could undertake a great deal of physical work for that money. I hope Darwin City Council will get off its hands and respond to the wishes of its constituents.
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ANSWER
Mr Speaker, there would not be a member who holds an urban seat who is not concerned about traffic in the suburbs and who has not been approached by constituents in relation to this problem. Certainly, I have been approached by any number of people in my electorate. They are concerned about speeding, and the associated noise and nuisance of traffic in the suburbs. This applies not only in Darwin and Alice Springs. Indeed, I received a letter recently from the local government council at Yuendumu, requesting that a 40 km speed limit be imposed in that township. That council shares the same basic concerns.
It was with this in mind that, prior to the last election, the government promised to take action to quieten suburban streets and undertake necessary works to calm traffic using those streets. We offered Darwin City Council $200 000 dollar-for-dollar funding on an annual basis. The purpose of such funding is for the implementation of programs throughout the Territory to carry out such works. I am pleased to advise that Alice Springs Town Council has adopted a roads management strategy. It consulted widely with members of the community and it is implementing that roads management strategy. However, we are experiencing severe difficulties with Darwin City Council. A previous Minister for Transport and Works implemented a trial 50 km speed limit in the suburb of Leanyer. Unfortunately, that has not been extended to other suburbs.
I have had officers of my department discuss various proposals at length with Darwin City Council. The only positive response we have obtained is that it wants to conduct surveys and professional consultations. My response is that there are any number of members of this House who can consult with Darwin City Council as to the wishes of the electorate, and Darwin City Council has at least 12 members who can consult with members of the public. This government will not commit funds merely for consultation. We are happy to spend $200 000 this year to undertake works. The people of Darwin are screaming out for action to calm traffic in the suburbs. It is not only a matter of speeding, but noise and nuisance also. The Darwin City Council should act more responsibly in this matter. It is a demand from ratepayers. It has chosen to ignore that demand and make no decision other than to attempt to spend $40 000 of government money on further consultations when, in terms of ordinary speed bumps, that would provide 10 or 12 ramps. We could undertake a great deal of physical work for that money. I hope Darwin City Council will get off its hands and respond to the wishes of its constituents.
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Last updated: 09 Aug 2016