13 March 2012

Zed wants NSW to fix the King's Highway

| johnboy
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Liberal Leader Zed Seselja is making an unusual foray into NSW politics, calling for them over the border to pay for upgrades to the road mostly used by us Canberrans after a weekend of fatalities on the Kings Highway:

“There have been too many accidents and fatalities on the Kings Highway and
it is high time the NSW Government takes a serious look at reasonable
upgrades to the road,” Mr Seselja said

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00davist said :

So NSW needs to fix the road, because Canberra drivers have no idea how to drive responsibly on a mountain pass?

Which “Canberra Drivers” are you referring to? The bloke from Jindabyne, or the bloke from China?

Are you a fully-certified genius, or just in training?

Brucer said :

Unless we decide to grade every driver and then permit them only on roads they are deemed capable of using….

Your ideas are intriguing to me and I wish to subscribe to your newsletter.

colourful sydney racing identity said :

cyla said :

As much as I hate speed cameras, I can see a genuine need for one of those average speed cameras. Then people who want to get to the coast in 1-2hrs can pay for a photo of themselves, and pay for the upkeep of the road.

+1

If they can do it for Cooma I don’t see why they can’t do it for Braidwood

I see alot of comments here blaming driver impatience or lack of skill/experience for the fatalities, and I don’t disagree however the fact is we have those drivers on every road, not just the Kings Highway. Unless we decide to grade every driver and then permit them only on roads they are deemed capable of using, we have to either accept that some roads will claim more casualties than others or else bring all roads to the same standard. In the various official commentary I’ve listened to since the weekend, one fact is repeatedly quoted; that the road is simply not up to the volume of traffic using it. If we accept this then it follows logically that the only long term REAL solution is to upgrade the road. All this talk of cameras, signs, reduced speed limits, etc, etc is only tinkering at the edges.

PoQ said :

Don’t hold your breath. I was in Kempsey in 1989, when those two buses collided at Clybucca. The Feds and the NSW government started on the Kempsey bypass last year, 21 years after the event. So we can expect Kings Highway to be fixed about 2033.

The obvious question is, if Zed is so keen on the idea, how much is the ACT going to chip in?

And the Bulahdelah Bypass isn’t finished yet either.

+1 ACT Needs to Chip In.

PoQ said :

Don’t hold your breath. I was in Kempsey in 1989, when those two buses collided at Clybucca. The Feds and the NSW government started on the Kempsey bypass last year, 21 years after the event. So we can expect Kings Highway to be fixed about 2033.

The obvious question is, if Zed is so keen on the idea, how much is the ACT going to chip in?

But, the highways up there do have a *lot* of speed cameras now.

Don’t hold your breath. I was in Kempsey in 1989, when those two buses collided at Clybucca. The Feds and the NSW government started on the Kempsey bypass last year, 21 years after the event. So we can expect Kings Highway to be fixed about 2033.

The obvious question is, if Zed is so keen on the idea, how much is the ACT going to chip in?

cyla said :

As much as I hate speed cameras, I can see a genuine need for one of those average speed cameras. Then people who want to get to the coast in 1-2hrs can pay for a photo of themselves, and pay for the upkeep of the road.

Except the camera isn’t going to detect someone being held up by a vehicle travelling 30km/h below the limit for 20km before he/she/tradie passes in a cloud of arrogance and travels at 110 for the next 5km, slowing down metres from the camera.

More police on the road and much tougher licencing testing in Australia please.

BenMac said :

ACT Government had to share the cost of the Federal Highway upgrade (74km worth of road ouside the ACT), why not the Kings?

How much money do you think is pumped into the NSW economy every year through Canberrans heading down the coast? From the bakery in Braidwood, to the hotels and resorts in the Bay, residents of Canberra spend a heap of money in NSW. Without the Kings Highway, it wouldn’t happen. Why would the ACT agree to fund roadworks making it easier for their residents to spend their money elsewhere?

the road itself is fine, however it needs upgrading to cater for the many drivers who have little respect for themselves, the occupants of the vehicle or other vehicles on the road. The mad rush to get one car ahead when there are hundreds in front of you on those busy days is just stupid.

ACT Government had to share the cost of the Federal Highway upgrade (74km worth of road ouside the ACT), why not the Kings?

colourful sydney racing identity4:13 pm 13 Mar 12

cyla said :

As much as I hate speed cameras, I can see a genuine need for one of those average speed cameras. Then people who want to get to the coast in 1-2hrs can pay for a photo of themselves, and pay for the upkeep of the road.

+1

Road upgrades won’t help, we need driver upgrades.

bikhet said :

Bugger the Kings Highway, which only gets busy a few time a year. How about duplicating the Barton Highway with is busy every workday – and no, I don’t commute from Yass, Murrumbateman, etc

5 People didn’t die on that road last weekend.

Bugger the Kings Highway, which only gets busy a few time a year. How about duplicating the Barton Highway with is busy every workday – and no, I don’t commute from Yass, Murrumbateman, etc

As much as I hate speed cameras, I can see a genuine need for one of those average speed cameras. Then people who want to get to the coast in 1-2hrs can pay for a photo of themselves, and pay for the upkeep of the road.

I’d settle for some unreasonable upgrades too. How about a loop-the-loop at the top of Clyde Mountain? A submerged tunnel surrounded by an artificial aquarium outside Bungers? A drive-thru model of human internal organs at Nelligan?

Before Zed gets on his high horse and demands NSW improve the quality of the Kings Highway, maybe he should look at the quality of drivers that the ACT licencing system produces?

Growling Ferret said :

I don’t want to sound heartless, but the fatalities on the weekend involved

a) a father from Jindabyne and two innocent children
b) two Chinese students overtaking illegally and speeding

I hardly believe either of these are the ‘typical Canberra Public Servant drivers’ referenced elsewhere in the three threads currently running.

Spot on. Canberra’s public servants shouldn’t be singled out as the cause of accidents on the Kings Highway. Most Canberrans (myself included) do the majority of their driving on flat, dual lane divided roads. It is little wonder when we flood the Kings Highway en-masse that shit hits the fan.

Zed’s suggestions of widening shoulders and installing barriers aren’t going to fix the real issue: Driver inexperience, impatience and disrespect for driving conditions are the overriding causes of accidents on this road.

yellowsnow said :

ACT govt chooses to spend taxpayer money on hideous sculptures, arboretums and building expensive lakes and new suburbs out of asbestos, instead of road maintenance (ever wondered why Canberra gets el-cheapo chip seal roads in urban areas, while other cities get proper, smooth bitumen? Overspending on art and new suburbs is one reason).

With Brown Mountain road closed and the King’s getting more use as a result, we could raffle off some of the hideous art (as no one is likely to want to buy suburbs made of asbestos), and chip in for some extra highway policemen?

As their “owners”, we could have a subscriber service where we could log in to their Cop Cams and watch them catching lunatics, make a TV show out of it and flog it to a TV network and then syndicate it. Profit. Problem solved.

Growling Ferret1:29 pm 13 Mar 12

I don’t want to sound heartless, but the fatalities on the weekend involved

a) a father from Jindabyne and two innocent children
b) two Chinese students overtaking illegally and speeding

I hardly believe either of these are the ‘typical Canberra Public Servant drivers’ referenced elsewhere in the three threads currently running.

I suspect these won’t be the only fatalities that will occur over the next few months, especially as Brown Mountain could be out of action for three months and the level of traffic on the Kings Highway will be far higher than normal.

yeah right, because Canberra roads are absolutely perfect as they are.

In many ways the Kings Hwy is a better road than Canberra roads that get higher traffic – eg William Hovell Drive.

Just as the ACT govt has funding priorities based on where elections are won and lost, so does the NSW govt. As it is, ACT govt chooses to spend taxpayer money on hideous sculptures, arboretums and building expensive lakes and new suburbs out of asbestos, instead of road maintenance (ever wondered why Canberra gets el-cheapo chip seal roads in urban areas, while other cities get proper, smooth bitumen? Overspending on art and new suburbs is one reason).

NSW has chosen to prioritise the Pacific and Princes Highways instead of the Kings hwy, as is their right. If the ACT or Fed govts choose to contribute to the road, NSW might change its mind

p1 said :

Maybe NSW could upgrade the Kings Highway a little in exchange for the ACT stopping whinging about people from Shelbyville Queanbeyan using Canberra Hospitals?

That’s exactly what I was going to say

So NSW needs to fix the road, because Canberra drivers have no idea how to drive responsibly on a mountain pass?

the road is actually not all that bad, try Maquarie pass or Jambaroo Mountain RD, then see what you think, or better yet, try calling for enforcement of basic road rules right here in the ACT, maybe if people learned to drive at speed (not 30 under or 20 over), to the conditions, at a safe distance from the car in front, and worked out what the lines on the road, and the indicators on there car are for, then things will improve.

Quit blaming Dell because you can’t find the ‘any key’ it’s NSW responsibility to compensate ACT stupidity.

farcical.

Maybe NSW could upgrade the Kings Highway a little in exchange for the ACT stopping whinging about people from Shelbyville Queanbeyan using Canberra Hospitals?

Actually, I think that road is mostly pretty good (damage occurring during recent wet weather not withstanding), and it is probably a case of driver eduction, more visible policing, and accepting that some people will be either reckless or unlucky each year.

Be cheaper for them to upgrade the visible police presence… establish a White and Blue Plate Taskforce Squad to operate out of Bungers and Braidy. Seriously. The Killer Road would then kill no more.

VYBerlinaV8_is_back12:37 pm 13 Mar 12

I doubt there’ll be much response. ACT hasn’t exactly been a good neighbour in recent years (location of the gaol, new industrial estate, etc).

A smarter approach would be to see if funding from ACT, NSW and federal sources can be coordinated and applied.

neanderthalsis12:28 pm 13 Mar 12

Well, it is in NSW…

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