Published on Tuesday, 21 March 2023 at 11:08:44 AM
The 2023 Great Southern Road Safety Conference was held on Thursday 16 March 2023. Hosted by the Shire of Cranbrook, the event bought together over 45 road safety stakeholders from across the Great Southern Region. Attendees included Local Government Elected Members and staff, WA Police, Main Roads WA, St John Ambulance, Department of Fire and Emergency Services Department of Transport and community members.
The annual Conference had not been held since late 2019 due to the impacts of COVID-19 and this marked the sixth time the Shire of Cranbrook has hosted the event.
Shire of Cranbrook CEO Linda Gray opened the conference with local Noongar Elder Marie Eades Welcoming us to Country and Great Southern Police Superintendent Paul Coombes providing the welcome address.
A range of topics were covered throughout the day, including:
- Road Safety Ratings for Local Government Roads Project Pilot with the City of Albany
- Road Safety for our Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Community for the Katanning Community
- Black Spot Program Review by Main Roads WA
- The First Responder Training Program for novice drivers, a community-based initiative by St John Ambulance
- An overview of the Road Safety Demonstration Project and Road Traffic Safety Policy by Shire of Manjimup.
Jimmy Murphy, the founder of Town Teams Movement and this year’s WA recipient of the Australia Day Local Hero Award, provided the key note address. Jimmy spoke about the community-led traffic calming ideas in Mullalyup and a partnership with the RAC and Road Safety Commission to expand the Town Teams Program to continue to address traffic calming through a placemaking approach.
The day concluded with a lively panel discussion on Is reducing the speed limit an option for reducing Killed or Serious Injury Crashes? Panel members included Brad Lenton the Main Roads WA Great Southern Network Manager, Derek Grimes the Officer in Charge Great Southern Traffic and the Great Southern District Traffic Coordinator, Michael Leers the Director Works and Services at the Shire of Manjimup and Jimmy Murphy from Town Teams.
Linda Gray Shire of Cranbrook CEO closed out the day with an overview of key points from the day, reminding of the role we all play in road safety and the need for continued collaboration.
The 2023 conference was kindly sponsored by the Road Safety Commission Community Grants Program.
A replay of the conference is available at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dd6qjWjEUx4 and copies of the presentations can be request by emailing roadwise@walga.asn.au.
Image: Attendees at the 2023 Great Southern Road Safety Conference.
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