Council Road Safety Strategic Plan

No matter what role you play in local council, you can start the conversation with your leadership team to promote the benefits of a council Road Safety Strategic Plan and gain support.

• Identify a project lead to steer the project in the right direction.
• Developing the Plan is a collaborative effort across council, but a project lead streamlines the process.
• To start the process, form a working group of people who can provide perspectives from different angles. Think beyond road and infrastructure planners, engineers and external consultants and consider members of your community who may have something to offer. Obtaining high level buy in within Council is crucial to developing and implementing a successful plan.
• Gain inspiration from other local councils that have created plans and have a similar road network to yours.

Where does your plan fit within your Community Strategic Plan? The Local Government Integrated Planning and Reporting Framework recognises that effective council plans and policies are interconnected.

 Road safety assessment

Identify existing and potential road safety problems in your local community. These may be caused by road users’ lack of knowledge and skills, or the council’s limited resources. They may also be physical, such as the types of vehicles on certain roads.

• Analyse your LGA’s road crash data over past years.
• Apply the Safe System approach for a holistic assessment.
• Use proactive risk indicators such as the Australian Road Assessment Program (AusRAP) star ratings.

Questions to ask:

• Why is this a problem?
• Who does the problem impact?
• When did it become a problem?
• What time of the day, week or year is the problem worse?
• What aggravates or alleviates the problem?

Detail road safety efforts, programs and policies that are already in place or in development, and how effective they are.

Other considerations:

• Who should be involved (directly and indirectly), and how?
• How will the Plan be implemented and monitored by the council?
• How will the Plan be documented and published?

Set objectives

Not all problems can be resolved quickly or simultaneously. Balance your short- and long-term objectives by identifying priorities and available resources. Rank problems, list affected stakeholders, identify stakeholders who can help solve the issue and then identify what actions can be taken. When determining your actions, make sure they are:

• specific – objectives should be linked to the specific problems or target groups you have identified
• measurable – you should be able to quantify what will be achieved
• achievable – the objectives should be realistic in the context of available funds
• relevant – the objectives should be worthwhile, relating directly to road safety improvement and to your organisation’s priorities
• timely – decide on a clear time frame and target date for each objective.    

 Work with relevant road safety partners

Using your assessment, partner with stakeholders who can help you meet your objectives. Ask your council’s leadership team for guidance.

Contact relevant road safety communities, institutions, businesses, associations, subject matter experts and advocates in your LGA to help you achieve your objectives and gain community support. You might also identify opportunities with stakeholders who don’t currently recognise road safety as a priority.

Ask them for feedback on your plan and discuss how you can collaborate on road safety actions and initiatives. Consider your plan’s overall goals and the big picture rather than focusing on each groups’ individual interests separately.

Community road safety partners

Resources and funding

Estimate the cost of each stage of the project and highlight the benefits of improving road safety – including potential lives saved.

Your analysis could lead to the redistribution of your current funding for projects and maintenance. State or federal government funding may be available for certain initiatives, especially if they strategically address road safety. 

Depending on your role in local council, potential funding sources could include the Australian Government Black Spot Programme, Towards Zero Safer Roads Program and the Local Government Road Safety Program.

Data can be used as a communications tool to encourage behavioural changes, target specific road safety initiatives and set priorities for improving the road network.

Road crash statistics show trends and comparisons to other similar LGAs. Road crash analysis involves looking for patterns in crash type, driver factors, road features, vehicle factors (including size, mass, age and safety features) and environmental conditions.

 Other data sources to consider

Involving internal stakeholders early on will ensure the Plan is promoted as a whole-of-council project and not just a road safety or road and infrastructure planning initiative. Having a good understanding of the Safe System approach will help you to educate stakeholders.

Review the road safety implications of current work practices and policies with council managers and identify opportunities for change.

Develop a communication strategy to gain internal support. Identify who you need to communicate with before, during and after the preparation of your Plan, and decide on the appropriate communication channels to reach them. To organise your thoughts, consider creating a table with these headings:

• Message
• Task or action (purpose)
• Delivery date
• Delivery tool or channel
• Audience
• Dependencies.

Set the foundations of the Plan and key areas to be addressed. The Plan will be specific to your community, but it can be helpful to look at other local council road safety plans for inspiration.

 Create action schedules

Set a timeline for implementing the action points in the Plan and include a schedule for regularly reviewing it to maintain accountability. Develop implementation plans for strategic actions, and a communications strategy.

List of actions
Once you’ve defined measurable goals, establish your actions.

Consider creating a table with these headings:

• Priority (first to last)
• Action
• Description of action
• Target group
• Tools and methods
• People involved
• Measuring success / Indicators of success
• Potential risks.

Implementation plans
Set a timeframe for each action and assign team members or partners to implement it. You can address the actions through a continuous campaign, or in waves. Update the Plan regularly, outlining changes made due to unforeseen circumstances, priority changes and timing miscalculations.

Consider creating a table with these headings:

•  Task or action
• Who is responsible
• Time needed to complete task
• Start date
• Completion date
• Comments
• Status.

 Consultation

It’s important to consult road safety stakeholders, including community organisations, professionals and the public. This process will lead to more effective planning and decision-making and will reduce the risk and cost of unexpected negative consequences.

Consultation operates on 4 levels:

• information giving
• information seeking
• information sharing
• shared decision-making.

Once you’ve drafted the Plan, it’s important to circulate it to stakeholders for feedback. Incorporate feedback and make any last adjustments before sharing it with your local community.

Work with your council’s creative service teams or agencies to design a document that’s visually appealing and easy to follow.

It is important to monitor progress towards achieving your Plan’s actions as it is rolled out and implemented, and to adjust your approach where necessary.

• How will you judge the success of the actions?
• How often will progress against actions be evaluated to measure success (consider how actions will be funded as a part of this process)?
• When should you consider revising the Plan? (For example, should the Plan be a living document; should it be adjusted every 2 years or less frequently?)
• How will it be reviewed? Will a committee oversee implementation and evaluation periodically?
• Is further involvement needed from partners outside the council?

As you progress with delivering the Plan’s actions, make sure that commitments are regularly reviewed, and that you adapt accordingly. It is fine to change plans, but don’t ignore them. Priorities may shift due to changes in funding or resources, or an urgent need to attend to other issues.