The transport system is an integral part of the everyday lives of all Western Australians and in a State that is as large and diverse as ours, it is a critical component that makes it all work. The vast distances and sparse population present complex challenges for productivity and sustained prosperity.
Whether it is continuing to strengthen our economic success, assisting in improving the quality of life for all or seeking to create a strong foundation for those that come after us, the State road network has a vital role to play as part of a broader integrated transport system.
In seeking to meet community expectations and deliver government outcomes there will always be challenges to overcome and opportunities to recognise and benefit from. The following provides a snapshot of some of these challenges and opportunities and looks at what we might be facing in the future.
Economic
The Facts
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Coupled with the fact that close to 70% of all freight is actually distributed throughout the metropolitan area by light commercial vehicles, these statistics paint a picture that shows just how important the road network is to the growth and vitality of our State.
Our role
- Over the next four years we will deliver $8 billion in services including:
- Over $3.4 billion of capital works Distribution of $761 million in grants to Local Government
We’ll be working with our Portfolio partners, Local Government and other agencies to deliver a range of projects across the State that will address export and freight, contribute to improved productivity and safety and tackle the impacts of congestion.
Social
The Facts
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Our role
We will serve the needs of a growing population while addressing the impacts this will have on meeting the land use and access needs of individuals, the community and business. Furthermore, we remain committed to working with others to continue the journey to Towards Zero under the four pillars of Safe Road Use, Safe Roads and Roadsides, Safe Speeds and Safe Vehicles.
Private vehicles will continue to have an important role to play as part of our whole transport system. To address this, we’ll focus on maximising the number of people we move rather than the number of vehicles to reduce congestion, maintain accessibility and improve liveability for the whole community.
The bottom line
We have a clear and important responsibility in contributing to the solutions that will address the complexities of a growing and evolving society. Our challenge will lie in providing services that will enable the community to make more informed travel decisions while also achieving better integration of transport modes to improve productivity, efficiency and safety.
Environmental
The Facts
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Our role
We are looking to make gains in biodiversity, promote the efficient use of natural resources and drive reductions in carbon-based emissions and the impact it has on communities, the economy and the environment.
In doing so we’ll drive more consistent outcomes in land rehabilitation and roadside habitat preservation to ensure we continue to provide our services without comprising the natural environment on which we all depend.
The bottom line
Decisions made today related to the redesign and retrofitting of existing infrastructure, or the location and design of new infrastructure, will affect how well our network is able to adapt to climate change into the future.
To make sure we consider our environmental impact in all we do, we continue to develop our people to be more effective in fulfilling their environmental responsibilities, creating a conscious workforce that focus on achieving sustainable outcomes.
How will we make all of this happen?
Our strategic plan – 2020
Released in August 2013, 2020 describes the strategic direction we’ll take over the next six years and represents our response to the challenges, and opportunities we encounter and the environment we work in.
It will aid in coordinating and engaging with our partners, stakeholders, customers and employees to improve our integrated approach to planning to ensure we capture and deliver on the needs of our diverse customer base.
Sustainability
Sustainability is a key strategic enabler within 2020 along with Leadership, Innovation and Productivity. It’s essential in all our activities and forms one of the foundational building blocks underpinning achievement of the outcomes we are seeking.
As part of meeting the challenge of embedding sustainable practices into our core business processes we have adopted the Infrastructure Sustainability Council of Australia IS rating tool for all projects greater than $100 million. This approach is already driving a culture of change that we will build on across all our initiatives under the Transport portfolio.
Driver safety
As drivers, we are not infallible, and the best of us make mistakes and errors of judgments at times. However, using the roads should not come with a “toll’ where we expect death and serious injury; using the road should be a safe experience and we will continue to do everything we can through using the safe system approach to make this a reality.
Congestion
Congestion is creating increased social, economic and environmental concerns that we are tackling at both an operational and strategic level. Our 2020 Strategy identifies through the “Making technology work for the community” objective that we will optimise transport outcomes through best use of available and emerging technology. In June this year we released a Draft Intelligent Transport Systems Master Plan for public comment to help guide our future approaches in this area.