BLACK SPOT PROGRAM

The Hon. R.P. WORTLEY (15:00): I seek leave to make a brief explanation before asking the Minister for Road Safety a question about the projects that were successful in achieving funding from the level crossing black spot program.

Leave granted.

The Hon. R.P. WORTLEY: The state government recently wrote to 11 councils advising that 19 programs across the state that were nominated for level crossing blackspot funding had been successful. Will the Minister for Road Safety please outline where these level crossing improvements will be made and what type of works will be undertaken?

The Hon. CARMEL ZOLLO (Minister for Correctional Services, Minister for Road Safety, Minister for Gambling, Minister Assisting the Minister for Multicultural Affairs) (15:00): I thank the honourable member for his question. In July this year, I informed the council of a partnership between state and local governments in regard to tackling road safety at level crossings on local roads.

The partnership involves a 50-50 funding split between state and local governments, and the program will deliver a significant boost to level crossing safety over the next four years for council-nominated improvements. The program is directed at improving level crossing safety by identifying and treating level crossings on local roads that have one or more of the following:

minor safety deficiencies;

an established record of near-miss incidents; and

identified risk.

Today I am pleased to update members on the progress of this program. The 11 councils that will benefit from the 2008-09 Level Crossing State Blackspot Program are: the Adelaide Hills Council, Alexandrina Council, Barossa Council, City of Charles Sturt, Light Regional Council, District Council of Mount Remarkable, The Rural City of Murray Bridge, City of Port Lincoln, City of Prospect, City of Salisbury and District Council of Tumby Bay. Examples of some of the works to be undertaken include:

installing pedestrian crossings;

installing stop signs;

vegetation trimming;

narrowing the width of crossings;

line marking;

removing defective and non-compliant signs and replacing them with new signs;

installing a solar powered street light; and

installing advanced warning signs for heavy vehicles to detour.

Councils have until June 2009 to complete the works. Safer level crossings play an important role in achieving South Australia's road safety targets. The implementation of cost-effective road improvements to address sight distance deficiencies, pedestrian issues, traffic queueing and lighting issues will go a long way to reduce the risk at level crossings.

I thank the Department for Transport, Energy and Infrastructure and the Local Government Association for their role in expeditiously processing these nominations. From late July until now, the department and the association have sought nominations and selected the successful projects. There are 1,140 level crossings in South Australia, and about 80 per cent are on local roads. This collaborative program is therefore vital in improving level crossing safety throughout the state.