Residents Win Road Safety Grants

Mr HUGHES (Giles) (15:11): My question is to the Minister for Road Safety. Will the minister outline how funding from the Residents Win grants program is progressing?

The Hon. A. PICCOLO (Light—Minister for Disabilities, Minister for Police, Minister for Correctional Services, Minister for Emergency Services, Minister for Road Safety) (15:11): I thank the honourable member for his question, and I also acknowledge the number of questions he asks of me in terms of road safety matters, as does the member for Mitchell, who I met with this morning on road safety.

The Residents Win grants program was implemented in June last year following an election commitment that provides $2 million to community road safety grants over the next four years. Residents Win provides community members with the opportunity to identify and highlight their own road safety issues and assist them find cost-effective project solutions. In this way, projects are developed according to community need, because local community members are often best placed to identify road safety concerns. If I remember correctly, I met with the member for Goyder and some groups of residents in his area to discuss the Residents Win project.

This program seeks to improve community understanding of road safety solutions through a two-stage consultation process with Department of Planning, Transport and Infrastructure. Through this process, a community is assisted with developing innovative solutions to their concerns. The Residents Win grant program has been promoted widely within the community through advertising and the distribution of postcards and other materials to councils and community organisations. Specific promotions have been tailored for Aboriginal communities, which have resulted in three projects currently being developed to address their road safety concerns.

Since the grants were announced, 81 expressions of interest have been received and assessed. Thirty-three expressions of interest have moved to the next stage of the process, where the applicant works with a member of the advisory panel to develop a solution and funding application. I am pleased to advise that the first project applications to receive Residents Win grant program funds can now be announced.

Residents of Corn Street, Old Reynella have received $150,000 for a project which responds to residents' concerns about dangerous and irresponsible driving behaviours and unsafe pedestrian access. The residents' project aims to address these concerns through implementing traffic-calming measures, widening of footpaths, and changes to on-street parking.

Residents in Andamooka have received $11,053 for a project which responds to residents' concerns over the visibility of cyclists and pedestrians at night. This funding will be used for the installation of six solar streetlights to be installed on the sealed roads in the Andamooka town centre. The project supports the Andamooka Town Management Committee's Community Hub Masterplan which, amongst other things, seeks to make the Andamooka town centre a safer and more vibrant place for residents and visitors alike.

A further four projects with innovative solutions are expected to be funded shortly which are also targeted at protecting vulnerable road users, such as cyclists and pedestrians. The number of applications submitted to the Residents Win program to date has demonstrated the popularity of empowering community members to engage in the process of not only identifying road safety problems but also playing their role in developing cost-effective solutions.

Finally, if anyone has identified a road safety concern and would like to play their part in developing a solution, I would encourage them to visit the Residents Win website at www.residentswin.sa.gov.au and submit an expression of interest.