A Guide to Developing Council Road Safety Strategic Plans, 2nd Edition

A Guide to Developing Council Road Safety Strategic Plans has been designed to assist local councils to develop road safety strategic plans. The road map on the next page illustrates the key activities for developing a council road safety strategic plan and integrating it into council’s mainstream management processes. The map gives an example of a direct route to the development of a road safety strategic plan, but this particular route will not suit every council. This Guide will also assist project managers to determine alternative approaches that will be effective for their own councils and communities. The road map is followed by some key information that provides an introduction to the objectives and basic principles of the road safety strategic plan. Section 1 is designed to help the project manager devise the project development strategy, taking account of levels of support and awareness of road safety issues in his or her own council and community. (Note: A checklist of items to consider when planning the project strategy is included in Appendix 1). Section 1 also provides information for use in presentations to raise awareness and support for the strategic planning process. Subsequent sections provide details on the processes and decisions involved in identifying issues, stakeholder consultation, strategy development and production. Section 6 is for those who are revising and updating an existing road safety strategic plan. The case studies inserted throughout the Guide are based on real examples and illustrate the approaches taken by different council project managers to some of the problems they encountered in the development of their road safety strategic plan. The appendices contain a number of resources, including the planning checklist, ideas for how each different area of a council can make a contribution to road safety, and guidelines on how to engage a consultant to assist with the process. Throughout the Guide we refer to the person with primary responsibility for the development of the road safety strategic plan as the project manager. In many councils this will be a Road Safety Officer, although other professional officers (e.g. from engineering, town planning, strategic planning or community services) could also undertake the task.