Read below to hear why Christopher Davis, Mildura Rural City Council’s Road Safety Officer, and winner of the 2020 3M-ACRS Diamond Road Safety Award, encourages you to apply this year.
Have you developed a road safety initiative, a program or designed civil infrastructure that is making a difference to reduce crashes or change behaviours that is saving lives?
When I was thinking whether our road safety initiative was worthy I was pondering what others would think if we were successful. I could hear their reaction “Are you kidding me, a roundabout won the 3M-ACRS Diamond Award!” I also identified that Auckland would most likely submit an application too. I was in awe of the massive community engagement activities and brilliant outcomes achieved by this team.
At this stage it w
ould have been easy to close my laptop and go to bed, but I knew we had designed something quite remarkable in Mildura that was not just another roundabout. I also knew that if road safety practitioners and governments understood the unique design principles of our work, and how quick and cheap it was to implement, their broad take up the concept would safe countless lives across Australasia. So I didn’t close the laptop and instead carefully crafted my nomination in a way the award reviewers would see beyond the words and embrace our work.
I am sure that many of you have a story to tell. A piece of work you are proud of. Across Australasia practitioners just like you are carving their own story that should be told and that we should hear. Please open up your laptop so that we can hear yours. Seriously, do it.
Christopher Davis
Winner – 2020 3M-ACRS Diamond Road Safety Award
More about the 2020 3M-ACRS Diamond Road Safety Award Winning Project
(From a project review by Safe System Solutions Pty Ltd.)
The Low Cost Implanted Compact Roundabout (LCICR) used a nonstandard alignment by not realigning lanes to include reverse curves or entry curves. It also used nonstandard traffic calming features (speed cushions) for roundabout locations, and a non-standard approach to construction to provide the final product at a significantly more cost-effective investment than typical roundabout installations (about one tenth of the price of a standard roundabout). This roundabout deviates from typical roundabout design and re-evaluates roundabout design from first principles. This approach was taken to identify how the safety benefits of a roundabout can be achieved with a retrofitted roundabout with minimal investment to obtain the desired speed outcomes.
Prior to the implementation of the LCIC roundabouts, five crashes were recorded at the two intersections. Following the implementation of the LCIC roundabouts, no crashes have been recorded. Communications with adjacent retailers indicate no unreported property damage crashes at the intersection either. The construction of this roundabout used spike-down kerbing and a concrete infill to create splitter islands, and precision excavation and an in-situ, poured concrete, fully mountable central island to reduce costs. The project was delivered for approximately one tenth of the price of a standard roundabout ($37,500) and solved the crash issue at the intersection. This project has been awarded the 2020 3M-ACRS Diamond Road Safety Award for its innovation and cost-effective approach to crash mitigation.
The Safe System Solutions evaluation said that; the data indicates excellent speed performance by the LCIC roundabout with regard to safety… The roundabout design from this project can be easily replicated in any low speed environment. Low cost Implanted Compact Roundabouts are fast to install and cost less than 1/10th the price of conventional designs. They can be installed at locations previously considered too tight, or when BCRs do not return a favourable ratio, for conventional roundabout implementation. Furthermore, if an existing roundabout is underperforming in terms of road safety, this program confirms that the installation of vertical deflection on the approach to the roundabout’s pedestrian pram crossings will achieve greatly improved outcomes for all road users, all for cost of 4 speed cushions.
For more information about the LCIC roundabout project contact Christopher Davis at chris.davis@mildura.vic.gov.au