Austroads releases strategic pathway to safer walking environments

Monday, 24 March 2025

Austroads has released four new reports from its Keeping People Safe When Walking project, providing a clear and evidence-based roadmap for reducing pedestrian trauma across Australia and New Zealand.

Pedestrian fatalities and serious injuries remain unacceptably high, especially among vulnerable cohorts such as children, older people, First Nations communities, and people with disability. These reports set out a compelling case for change and a structured, system-wide response.

Grounded in Vision Zero principles and Safe System thinking, the findings show that fully implementing proven interventions could reduce pedestrian fatalities and serious injuries by 70–90%. Achieving this will require a coordinated, data-informed, and equity-focused approach to pedestrian safety.

What’s in the reports?

The project’s first workstream, Data, Evidence and Interventions, provides the foundation for action:

• Pedestrian Safety Problem and Project Methodology—Introduces the Pedestrian Safe System Model and Pedestrian Safety Data Needs Framework, articulating the current state of pedestrian safety and outlining core concepts to support consistent system-level planning and evaluation.

• Literature Review—Synthesises international evidence on effective interventions, identifies local barriers, and highlights the economic burden of pedestrian trauma. It also outlines data gaps, strategic blockers, and systemic weaknesses impeding progress.

• Pedestrian Data Improvement Recommendations—Provides practical recommendations to improve pedestrian exposure data, link crash and hospital datasets, and develop robust safety performance indicators—foundational to better prioritisation and intervention design.

• Recommended Pedestrian Safety Interventions—Sets out a suite of 54 actionable interventions, backed by in-depth trauma and Vision Zero modelling. Emphasis is placed on integration across infrastructure, speed and vehicle technology, supported by governance and community engagement.

Why this matters for road safety professionals

The reports offer both technical insights and a strategic framework for local, state, and national action. They support investment prioritisation, performance monitoring, and multi-agency collaboration—essential elements in delivering on the 2030 and 2050 road safety targets.

“These reports shift the focus from isolated treatments to system-wide reform,” said Michael Nieuwesteeg, Austroads Road Safety and Design Program Manager. “They offer the tools, evidence, and models practitioners need to close the implementation gap.”

Next steps: From knowledge to action
The project’s next phase will assess current practices across jurisdictions, benchmark against international best practice, and highlight successful local implementations.