TRAFFIC CALMING - CRADLE MOUNTAIN TOURIST ROAD

The first Tasmanian traffic calming devices to reduce wildlife road kills in the State were completed by the Department of Transport in 1996 on a section of the road to Cradle Mountain. As a result, wildlife in this area is living longer, now that their greatest predator, the car, is forced to move at a slower speed through their territory. With increasing visitors to the Cradle Mountain area, the road infrastructure to the Cradle Mountain Lodge at the National Park boundary was upgraded in the late 1980s and early 1990s. At that time, a zoologist from the University of Tasmania, Menna Jones, was undertaking studies of Tasmania's carnivores in the Cradle valley. By chance, her studies documented the dramatic fall in the local Tasmanian devil population in this area and the local extinction of the resident eastern quoll population following the upgrading and sealing of the road. Subsequently, the Department of Transport, based on information provided by Jones on the ecological and behavioural characteristics of individual species and road mortality patterns, introduced a range of measures to reduce the number of wildlife road kills in the valley. The purpose of this paper is to: (a) Demonstrate the unforeseen impact road improvements can have on wildlife; (b) Outlines measures adopted by the Tasmanian Department of Transport at Cradle Mountain to reduce wildlife road kills; (c) Discuss the effectiveness of those measures; (d) Discuss, amongst other things, the use of traffic calming devices to assist in protecting our native fauna. (a) For the covering entry of this conference, please see IRRD abstract no. 492019.

• Record URL:
  http://arrbknowledge.com
• Availability:
  • Find a library where document is available. Order URL: http://worldcat.org/isbn/0869107836
• Corporate Authors:

  ARRB

  Melbourne, Victoria  Australia 
• Authors:
  • BAUER, R
• Conference:
  • ARRB TRANSPORT RESEARCH LTD CONFERENCE, 19TH, 1998, SYDNEY, NEW SOUTH WALES, AUSTRALIA
• Publication Date: 1998

Language

• English

Media Info

• Features: References;
• Pagination: 117-37 (SESSION B)

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Animals; Before and after studies; Conferences; Fatalities; Improvements; Management; Prevention; Residential areas; Roads; Rural areas; Speed; Traffic; Traffic flow; Traffic signs; Warning systems
• Geographic Terms: Australia
• ITRD Terms: 155: Administration; 2459: Animal; 8006: Australia; 9148: Before and after study; 8525: Conference; 1602: Fatality; 2755: Highway; 9108: Improvement; 9149: Prevention; 307: Residential area; 328: Rural area; 5408: Speed; 755: Traffic; 671: Traffic flow; 553: Traffic sign; 9113: Warning
• Subject Areas: Administration and Management; Highways; Operations and Traffic Management; Security and Emergencies;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 00769989
• Record Type: Publication
• Source Agency: ARRB
• ISBN: 0-86910-783-6
• Files: ITRD, ATRI
• Created Date: Oct 7 1999 12:00AM