Main Roads asleep at the wheel for too long

Anyone who drives on Perth roads during peak periods will know all too well that traffic congestion is getting worse. It is affecting more roads and for longer periods than a decade ago.

The impacts are felt widely — frustrated drivers are spending more time stuck in their cars and have less leisure time at home. Vehicle running costs and air pollution increase. It is estimated that problems associated with congestion in Perth could cost the economy $2.1 billion by 2020.

That figure alone means the need for action to ease congestion is urgent.

It is well recognised at the political level. The last State election, fought to a large extent on public transport plans, showed that politicians had got the message that congestion-busting policies were a potential vote winner. But away from the political battles and the big-ticket issues such as light rail, there are worrying signs that government agencies are failing to keep pace with the latest ideas and technology in traffic management.

Auditor-General Colin Murphy’s assessment of whether Main Roads’ infrastructure and traffic management projects are effective highlights the shortcomings in how the agency assesses problems and goes about fixing them.

Mr Murphy’s review found that Main Roads does not know whether its efforts to improve congestion are the best use of its resources. It said the absence of overall objectives and an incomplete planning framework made it difficult for the agency to know whether its priorities have been the most economical, efficient or effective use of resources.

The assessment also found gaps in the way Main Roads gathers information. It controls 850km of roads in the metropolitan area but has comprehensive congestion data for less than 10 per cent of the network, and only on freeways.

The Auditor-General also highlighted poor communication and information sharing between Main Roads, the Department of Transport and Public Transport Authority. This all points to a lack of an overall strategy to understand and manage congestion.

Main Roads is hamstrung to some extent by political priorities but the report tends to confirm the view that it has been asleep at the wheel for some time in the way it handles traffic. There has been a lack of forward thinking, particularly in the use of traffic lights to reduce snarls rather than to create them, and the adoption of new technology to alert drivers to trouble spots as they occur.

There is no easy answer to the congestion problem. It is an issue well beyond the control of Main Roads alone. But as the number of cars on Perth roads continues to grow, the agency must play a key role in finding solutions.

In a promising sign, the Auditor-General noted Main Roads was now refocusing its primary role from road building to traffic management. As the report says, this will bring the agency in line with better practice in controlling congestion and help the Government to make more informed transport policy decisions.