RoadWatch: Roundup
June 2020
Welcome to our monthly Austroads RoadWatch: Roundup for June. Discover our latest news, published reports, Guide updates, webinars and events.
Geoff Allan appointed Austroads Chief Executive
The Austroads Board has appointed Geoff Allan as Chief Executive of Austroads following the retirement of Nick Koukoulas in April.
Neil Scales, Austroads’ Chair, said Geoff’s background in transport and experience working across Australasia has proven invaluable in his role as Austroads’ Chief Operating Officer and Acting Chief Executive.
“Since joining Austroads in October last year, Geoff has fostered the development of a new strategic plan and been instrumental in reshaping the organisation to prepare it to deliver the new plan starting in July,” Neil said.
Guidance for project managers overseeing traffic modelling projects
Austroads has published guidance to help project managers to communicate with transport modelling consultants and accurately assess the technical performance and robust nature of models.
Richard Delplace, Austroads Network Program Manager says traffic and transport model assessments are becoming more popular to address increasing congestion in our rapidly growing cities.
“But the environment for model assessments is becoming more complex as the industry becomes more innovative, so project managers will need to determine how well certain models are suited to particular tasks. As there is no comprehensive national guidance on this topic at present, we have developed this guide to help project managers make informed decisions when commissioning simulation and intersection modelling services, as well as managing or communicating the associated processes.”
Join us for a free webinar presented by author Bryan Li on Thursday 9 July at 1 pm AEST, which provides project managers with clear and practical guidance to make informed decisions when procuring modelling services or communicating the associated processes.
No charge but registration essential.
Can't make the live session? Register and we'll send you a link to the recording.
Network-wide road design – A simple yet effective process for developing sustainable network safety plans
Austroads has produced a user guide to help road managers, planners and designers develop sustainable network safety plans that reduce serious and fatal crashes, deliver ‘self-explaining roads’ and facilitate decisions resulting in the safest network.
“Road safety treatments are predominantly considered on a project by project basis which may not result in the safest network with consistent corridor outcomes”, said David Bobbermen, Austroads Road Safety and Design Program Manager. “Inconsistent corridor standards do not support the principle of a ‘self-explaining road’ and make it difficult for drivers to make decisions and match driving behaviour to the road environment.”
“We’ve developed a simple five-step process that applies to all roads across a network, includes contemporary safety treatments and can be matched to available and aspirational levels of funding. This process will support road authority officers who are relatively time-poor.”
Decarbonising Australian and New Zealand road transport sectors
Austroads has published an issues paper that analyses the contribution of the road transport sector to generating greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in Australia and New Zealand.
Decarbonisation of Road Transport Network Operations in Australia and New Zealand explores ways the road transport sector can reduce its GHG emissions, including supporting electric vehicle sales and the early retirement of inefficient internal combustion engine vehicles from the fleet.
“The roads sector has an important role to play in supporting the state and national goals in the transition to net zero emissions by 2050 as it accounts for about 14% of Australian greenhouse gas emissions,” said Richard Delplace, Austroads Program Manager Network.
Motorised Mobility Devices: Stakeholder Feedback and Project Finalisation
This report collates stakeholder feedback provided in response to a Discussion Paper Motorised Mobility Devices Discussion Paper: Establishing a Nationally Consistent Framework and Adopting Technical Specification 3695.3.2018 circulated in August 2019.
Responses were received from a range of stakeholders, including motorised mobility device (MMD) user representative groups, government and industry representatives.
As a result, Austroads became aware of reviews under way or planned that could impact on the outcome of this project. It is therefore recommended that a technical specification for MMDs not be progressed at present due to the possible results from those other reviews.
As stakeholders expressed opposition to national registration and licensing arrangements for MMDs and their users, it is also recommended that no further action be taken with respect to registration and licensing schemes. Options for third party insurance are explored
Austroads accesses major research findings through SPARC Hub partnership
Austroads is a major partner in and sponsor of the Smart Pavements Australia Research Collaboration Hub (SPARC Hub), a collaborative think-tank led by Monash University that researches innovative materials, designs and adaptive technologies and facilitates skills development for the pavement industry.
The SPARC Hub aims to make road pavements smarter, longer-lasting, safer and more cost-effective. It includes partners from universities in Australia and overseas, road research organisations, contractors and road authorities.
“As a partner, we gain access to the research findings from SPARC Hub projects and can use these to inform our own research,” says Ross Guppy, Austroads Program Manager Assets. “Austroads also sits on the SPARC Hub Industry Advisory Board.”
Upcoming Austroads webinars
Introduction to the Life-Cycle Costing Framework and its Application to Unsealed Roads
30 June, 11.00am AEST
This webinar covers the life cycle costing framework and the important components that are considered for the assessment of an unsealed road.It draws on content from recently published technical reports on Sustainable Roads Through Fit-for-purpose Use of Available Materials.
Transport Modelling for Project Managers
9 July, 1.00 pm AEST
This webinar provides project managers who may not have specific technical experience in transport modelling with clear and practical guidance to help make informed decisions when procuring modelling services or communicating the associated processes.
Vehicles and Technology - Future State 2030
Thursday 6 August, 1.00 pm AEST
This webinar outlines the results of predictions about features and technologies vehicles in 2030 are likely to contain and use, and introduces the methodology and evidence base that underpins them. The webinar focuses on forecasting the penetration of the technologies into both new vehicles and the vehicle fleet.
Latest webinar recordings
Charting Changes in Austroads' Guide to Traffic Management
19 May, 1.00pm AEST
This webinar provides an overview of changes to the Austroads Guide to Traffic Management, based on updates from several recent Austroads research projects and with an additional focus on pedestrian access, safety and health.
Pedestrian Planning Concepts
27 May, 11.00am AEST
This webinar demonstrates how to better plan for high quality walking environments in our towns and cities, focusing on pedestrian access, safety and health. The webinar highlights the Guide to Traffic Management which has recently been updated.
Introduction to the Materials Assessment Framework and its Application in Resource Assessment
2 June, 11.00am AEST
With a shortage of quality quarried materials and natural gravels, there is an urgent need to consider fit-for-purpose materials for road construction and maintenance. This webinar provides guidance to help road agencies assess available materials and select those that are directly suited to the chosen design application.
Measuring Pedestrians - Survey and Audit Methods
3 June, 11.00am AEST
This webinar demonstrates why and how to measure walking activities. It highlights the Guide to Traffic Management series which has recently been updated to incorporate international good practice pedestrian planning and design.
View all our past webinars online www.austroads.com.au/webinars.
World Road Association News
Austroads has full or corresponding representatives on 15 World Road Association technical committees. Representatives are members of, or have a close working relationship with, an Austroads Task Force or working group.
TC 2.1 Urban Mobility
In February, Joshua Arbury, Waka Kotahi New Zealand Transport Agency, attended the meeting for the technical committee on Urban Mobility. Over the next four years the committee will be investigating:
- accessibility and mobility facing land-use in urban and peri-urban development
- integrated transportation systems, multimodality
- evaluating impacts of new mobility in urban and peri-urban areas.
Survey: Intelligent Compaction Technology in Australia for Soil and Asphalt Compaction
SPARC Hub is undertaking a survey to study the use of intelligent compaction (IC) technology in Australia for soil and asphalt compaction.
The survey will take only 5 minutes to complete. Personal details will not be published and the data collected from the survey will be used only for IC research. Please respond by COB Tuesday 30 June.
Recent research
BITRE: Road deaths Australia - monthly bulletins
This monthly bulletin contains current counts and summaries of road crash deaths and fatal road crashes in Australia. It is published on BITRE's website on or around the 14th of each month. Data are sourced from the road traffic or police authorities in each jurisdiction.
BITRE: Fatal Heavy Vehicle Crashes Australia—Quarterly Bulletins
This quarterly publication tracks counts of fatal crashes that involve heavy vehicles. The most recent edition was published in May.
Upcoming conferences
Conference organisers are carefully reviewing their arrangements to mitigate the spread of COVID-19. Please be aware that details may change at short notice.
Safer Roads 2020, Virginia, USA, November 2020
Australasian Tunnelling Conference, Melbourne, 29 November-3 December, 2020
IABSE Congress, Christchurch, 3-5 February, 2021
17th ITS Asia Pacific Forum, Brisbane, 12-15 April 2021
Austroads Bridge Conference, Adelaide, 11-14 May 2021
AITPM National Traffic and Transport Conference, Brisbane, 27-30 July 2021
19th AAPA International Flexible Pavements Conference 2021, Brisbane, 16-18 August 2021
NEW 2021 Australasian Road Safety Conference, Melbourne, 28-30 September 2021
