We need to reimagine how we think about and use road space to ensure our roads and streets can continue to perform their essential functions for transport, commerce, social interaction and public life.
Our goal
Our goal is to accommodate the travel demand and supply of goods for our growing population whilst maintaining reliability and efficiency without sacrificing safety, quality of life and health outcomes.
How we’ll achieve our goal
Provide more car-free options to facilitate sustainable mode shift
Providing more car-free options give people more flexibility in their transportation choices. More people choosing sustainable modes of transport such as active and public transport will reduce traffic congestion, improve air quality and urban amenity and improve health and wellbeing. We will provide more options through:
Improving reliability, and frequency of public transport connections to make public transport a first choice in urban communities, and a viable choice across NSW.
Making walking and bike riding the preferred mode of transport for short trips by improving the safety and comfort of people walking and riding bikes.
Stabilise traffic growth in our cities and suburbs
As our population grows, road congestion is expected to increase, impacting reliability and costs. Stabilising traffic in our cities and suburbs will require us to prioritise projects that encourage more efficient modes of transport for the movement of people and goods. This will include:
Rebalancing road investment, from providing additional capacity for general traffic, to reallocating existing road space for the most efficient modes of transport.
More investment in walking and bike riding initiatives.
Accommodating the growing and evolving needs for freight to ensure reliable travel times.
Investigating clearer, fairer, more efficient charges for using and maintaining our network.
Case study: Making walking and bike riding the preferred mode of transport for short trips
We want walking and bike riding to be the preferred mode of transport for short trips across NSW. Walking and bike riding are the most sustainable forms of transport, contributing to great places, cleaner local environments and healthier lifestyles, and providing economic benefits to local neighbourhoods.
To deliver on this we need to improve the safety and comfort of people walking and riding bikes by providing fit-for-purpose active transport infrastructure and appropriate road speeds. The Get NSW Active 2024–25 program funded 88 projects to be delivered by 72 local councils over the next three years.
Successful projects include an 835-metre shared pathway to provide better connections for pedestrians and bike riding in Coonabarabran, a 1.38-kilometre footpath at Weilmoringle to connect the local Aboriginal community and public school, and a 1.55-kilometre pedestrian and bike rider connection for Singleton residents.
