LOGAN councillor Trevina Schwarz has slammed point-to-point speed cameras on the Mount Lindesay Highway as a ‘slap in the face’ and an ‘insult to the community’.
The criticism came after a Transport and Main Roads spokesperson responded to an inquiry sent from the Logan Country Safe City group requesting a long-term plan for Mount Lindesay Highway.
The spokesperson said feedback from a 2015 Mount Lindesay Highway Safety review informed upgrades and intersection improvements to the highway.
Cr Schwarz said the review was a great initiative and people felt like they were being listened to, only for point-to-point speed cameras to follow.
“The community felt like there was momentum and the government appreciated and respected how tragic this highway is and that voices were being heard,” Cr Schwarz said.
“But instead of the plan and priorities coming out of that, it felt like a slap in the face because they put point-to-point speed cameras in. It was insulting to many in our community – (the cameras) revenue raise but do not save lives.”
Cr Schwarz said upcoming projects, including traffic lights at Greenbank Road would save lives, but a long-term plan was needed rather than a “band-aid approach”.
“I don’t want to sound unappreciative. We recognise the government understands the highway is a mess, but it needs to bite the bullet and put infrastructure in place,” she said.
“The statistics speak for themselves. It is the third worst road in Queensland – what will the extra population do if they do not upgrade the road?”
Logan MP Linus Power said the Department of Transport and Main Roads worked with police to identify the best locations for cameras based on crash history data.
“Point-to-point camera are a useful deterrent for speeding and can significantly reduce crashes and fatalities,” Mr Power said.
“They can determine if a vehicle has traveled faster than the minimum legal travel time for a section of road and match vehicle number plates at each camera site.
“Any revenue raised by the cameras is used for road safety education and awareness programs, road accident injury rehabilitation and road safety improvements on state-controlled roads.”
In January, RACQ technical and safety policy chief Steve Spalding said speed cameras were an unpopular but important road safety tool.
“Our members tell us a visible police presence is always the preferred option when attempting to enforce road safety, but point-to-point cameras are becoming more common,” Mr Spalding said.
Australian Pedestrian Council chairman Harold Scruby said the 2011 to 2020 National Road Safety Strategy showed point-to-point cameras were working.
“It noted evaluations demonstrated that point-to-point enforcement reduced speeding, resulting in a low infringement rate and significant reductions in deaths and serious injuries,” he said.
