Politicians urged to prioritise road safety in State’s south
The State’s peak motoring body has put politicians on notice and called for vital road projects in and around Toowoomba to be funded in a bid to save lives and drive investment on the Darling Downs and southern Queensland.
RACQ Head of Public Policy Susan Furze said road safety needed to be front of mind for present and future leaders in the region in the upcoming federal election.
“Last year the electorate of Maranoa had the third highest road toll in the State with 24 deaths, while the electorate of Wright had the fourth highest road toll with 22 deaths and another nine people were killed on roads in the Groom electorate,” Ms Furze said.
“Crashes are preventable and have devastating flow-on effects for the families of those killed and their communities. Investment in road safety does make a difference and we’re calling for further commitment to key projects to generate jobs, save lives and drive productivity.”
RACQ’s priority projects in Toowoomba and southern Queensland include:
- Fast-tracking the delivery of safety, capacity and flood immunity upgrades to the Carnarvon Highway (Inland Freight Route project) to drive productivity and provide a suitable inland alternative route to the Bruce Highway
- Committing funding to accelerate Warrego Highway safety, capacity and interchange improvements between Ipswich and Toowoomba
- Delivering a safety works package*, flood immunity, maintenance and strengthening improvements on the Gore Highway
- Delivering a safety works package along the Cunningham and New England Highways
- Increasing investment in the Federal Road Safety Program and bolstering maintenance funding allocations to deliver safer, stronger and more resilient regional roads.
Ms Furze said investment in these projects was vital to improve safety, capacity and productivity of roads across the region.
RACQ is also calling on both sides of government to help expand the national electric vehicle fast-charging network, and progress public access to the EV fast charger network as identified in Infrastructure Australia’s Infrastructure Priority List.
To view RACQ’s election priorities click here.
*Safety works packages include lane and shoulder widening, safety barriers or removal of roadside hazards, intersection improvements and additional overtaking lanes/opportunities.