A re-elected Cook Labor Government will ramp up its record investment in road safety, today announcing a major package aimed at reducing the number of people killed and seriously injured on WA roads.

Headlining the package is a $125 million commitment to expand the Cook Labor Government’s landmark Regional Road Safety Program onto local government roads.

Since 2020, $1 billion has been invested in the Cook Labor Government’s Regional Road Safety Program, with roughly 10,000 kilometres of the State’s regional road network expected to have been upgraded by the middle of this year.

The program has been delivering upgrades to State Government-controlled regional roads including widening and sealing shoulders, and the installation of audible centre and edge lines.

The additional investment will see these safety treatments installed on local government-controlled roads for the first time.

The safety treatments are aimed at preventing one of the leading causes of death and serious injury on regional roads – single vehicle run-off road crashes.

In line with the existing program, a re-elected Cook Labor Government will seek a matching contribution from the Federal Government, taking the overall investment for the expansion to local government roads to $250 million.

The road safety package will complement a $17.7 million commitment to deliver 23 new signalised pedestrian crossings, which will include the replacement of 19 current warden-controlled school crossings around WA.

The installation of signalised crossings at key locations around WA will enhance safety for students and pedestrians when crossing busy roads.

The upgrades will also free up more school traffic wardens to be redeployed to other school crossings around WA.

The boost in funding for local government roads comes on top of the 2023 State Road Funds to Local Government Agreement, which saw the Cook Labor Government’s provide a record $1.38 billion in funding for local roads over a five-year period.