Yass Council has backed a call for more road funding after a horror crash earlier this year. Photo: Michelle Kroll.
More funding has been called for in a push to upgrade highway intersections in the Yass Valley, six weeks after a fatal car crash.
The South East and Tablelands Strategic Regional Integrated Transport Plan (SRITP) was released earlier this year and details 60 actions and initiatives that aim to address transport needs across southern NSW.
At a recent meeting, Yass Valley Council (YVC) unanimously backed a proposal to push for upgrades to intersections along the Hume Highway.
Mayor Jasmin Jones used her mayoral minute to lobby for more road funding, writing that the area’s “critical intersections remain under-prioritised” under the plan.
She pointed to an Anzac Day two-vehicle crash at the intersection of the Hume Highway and Yass Valley Way at Manton, about 10 kilometres north of Yass.
A 69-year-old woman, a passenger in one of the cars, died at the scene.
“It should not take a fatality to trigger action, yet that is the stark reality following the recent Anzac Day crash at Manton,” Mayor Jones wrote.
“With three federal highways, two state roads, and five regional roads, Yass Valley is effectively a strategic transport centre.”
According to the SRITP, areas such as Queanbeyan, Goulburn, Bega and Batemans Bay have been designed as strategic centres – defined as centres with significant commercial components and a range of higher order services.
The motion calls for the NSW Government to prioritise safety upgrades for the Yass Valley Way-Hume Highway intersection, as well as the Burley Griffin Way and Lachlan Valley Way intersections.
It also calls for the government to support prioritising Yass Valley Way for the Local Transport Forum’s further input on safety measures.
Mayor Jones put forward several measures in her mayoral minute that a working group had identified to improve motorist safety.
These include rumble strips, motion-activated flashing lights, fog-countering warm lighting and speed reductions on regional roads near the highway.
In the meeting, she told councillors that while YVC could push ahead with some safety upgrades, larger-scale measures would rely on NSW Government support.
“[We want to] go to the State Government and say, ‘This is what we brought to the table,'” she said.
The SRITP lists upgrades to intersections on the Burley Griffin Way and Lachlan Valley Way as short-term projects, meaning they should be delivered within the next five years.
They are two of the priority sites identified for a project focusing on intersection and interchange upgrades along the Hume Highway.
Councillor Fleur Flanery said that while she supported the motion, YVC shouldn’t limit its focus to a few locations.
“It’s quite alarmist saying that, ‘We had someone die and we’ve taken action’ … There’s obviously other intersections.
“I think I’d like to see a broader review [that examines] our other intersections that have high crash numbers or high other numbers. Not just this one.”
