Question Time

Road Safety Education

The Hon. J.M. GAZZOLA (15:03): My question is to the Minister for Road Safety. Minister, will you advise the house about the status of the Way2Go program, which promotes active and safe travel to and from schools?

The Hon. P. MALINAUSKAS (Minister for Police, Minister for Correctional Services, Minister for Emergency Services, Minister for Road Safety) (15:03): I thank the honourable member for the important question. Earlier in the week, we assisted the National Road Safety Foundation to launch Fatality Free Friday. It was an important moment to realise how important road safety remains within our community. Of course, that message has only been reiterated in light of the significant accident that has occurred in the last 24 hours, which unfortunately cost people their lives.

However, recently I was very pleased to be able to be involved with the Way2Go program, which promotes active travel to school, partnering with 176 primary schools and 36 local councils across South Australia to encourage a whole school community focus on safe walking, cycling, scooting and skating to school and to use safe behaviours as pedestrians, cyclists and indeed passengers.

Schools are assisted to map student school travel and develop a unique school travel plan that includes the integrated teaching of safer, greener and more active travel behaviours. Schools have access to resources and there is no cost for them to be involved. There is a comprehensive set of teacher resource materials and schools are provided with time and support to explore and plan to integrate the teaching of the concepts and safe behaviours within current student learning programs.

Local councils commit to incorporate into their planning processes infrastructure improvements around schools to facilitate safer, greener and more active student travel. In some instances the changes are often minimal and low cost. Council traffic engineers are supported by DPTI traffic engineers and the program also provides for pedestrian crossing signage and negotiates some support for standard infrastructure installations such as crossings. For example, the Gilbert Street pedestrian crossing near Sturt Street Community School attracted a $125,000 state government contribution through Way2Go and a $50,000 contribution from the Adelaide City Council.

The program was launched in 2009 and has undergone significant developments since then. It has attracted strong commitment from both local government and schools over the years, and the program has been a success, continuing to evolve and increase its value for schools and local councils. The January 2016 Citizens' Jury bike education pilot program evaluation confirmed the effectiveness of the program and its congruence with best practice road safety education principles. It also acknowledged the quality of its resources.

A couple of weeks ago (or thereabouts) I was very glad to be able to attend the Norwood Primary School and witness first hand the way the program has been useful in that community. I had the opportunity to speak to parents, teachers and students who had participated in the program and who spoke incredibly highly of it. They were also very grateful for the state government continuing to support the program, investing a total of $3.2 million into the program. This is healthy, getting kids to and from school safely through alternative means, apart from traditional forms of motor vehicle transport. It is good for the community, it is good for the health of our kids, and it is good for the safety of our community at large. I think it is a program that the state should remain committed to into the future.