Episodes
Thursday May 06, 2021
Austroads Technical Specifications for Roadworks and Bridgeworks
Thursday May 06, 2021
Thursday May 06, 2021
Currently, most Austroads member agencies rely on their unique technical specifications for the delivery of roadworks and bridge projects. In many cases, these specifications have been developed over a number of years in consultation with local industry and suppliers.
While it is recognised that there will always be some requirements that will only apply to a single jurisdiction, standardising specifications (and the associated test methods) has the potential to improve work processes for road agencies, suppliers and contractors.
To increase efficiency for road agencies and industry and optimise compliance with contract requirements, 14 technical specifications have been published for all Austroads member agencies to use for the construction of roadworks and bridgeworks. These specifications are suitable for use with any general conditions of contract, including design and construct contracts. They are expected to be used in conjunction with supplementary local or contract specific requirements.
This webinar, presented by Richard Edwards, takes participants through the technical specifications development process and provides an overview of the structure and layout adopted for the specifications.
Thursday Mar 04, 2021
Effectiveness and Implementation of Raised Safety Platforms
Thursday Mar 04, 2021
Thursday Mar 04, 2021
Raised Safety Platforms (RSPs) are a vertical deflection device increasingly used to reduce the maximum comfortable operating speed for vehicles to Safe System collision speeds, particularly at intersections. While the use of vertical deflection devices has typically been limited to lower speed environments, there is increasing interest in the use of RSPs in higher speed environments and for other locations where pedestrians and cyclists would typically be injured.
The purpose of Austroads’ research report ‘Effectiveness and Implementation of Raised Safety Platforms’ was to provide clarity around the design and operation of RSPs and deepen the understanding of leading international practice across a range of applications and performance dimensions. The research included a review of literature, sample investigations and edits to relevant Austroads guides. The literature has shown that, outside of the Netherlands, where RSPs have been used extensively, a ‘community of practice’ is developing in Australia and New Zealand, with the majority of applications at signalised intersections above 50 km/h to date being in Victoria. There is evidence that RSPs are a promising road safety countermeasure.
In this webinar Fabian Marsh, Hamish Mackie and Rebekah Thorne outline the research approach and the key findings from the information review and sample investigations that have implications for future practice.
Friday Feb 26, 2021
Pedestrian Planning and Design for Residential Areas
Friday Feb 26, 2021
Friday Feb 26, 2021
This webinar, presented by Ann-Marie Head and Jeanette Ward, focuses on the planning and design considerations for walkable residential neighbourhoods, both new and existing, and where to find that guidance in Austroads’ guides.
The webinar covers the following key topics:
- what data to collect
- planning/network considerations
- design considerations
- examples of applying walkable characteristics
- best practice examples.
This is a final session in the series of webinars held by Austroads to step practitioners through the updated pedestrian planning and design information.
Austroads’ review of the pedestrian planning and design guidance in the Guide to Traffic Management (AGTM) and Guide to Road Design (AGRD) identified a total of 120 planning and design gaps. Recommended changes to the AGTM were published in April 2020 followed by a series of exceptionally popular webinars.
Recommended changes to the AGRD have been reviewed and approved by the Road Design Task Force and will find their way into the AGRD as part of its update and restructure planned by the Road Safety & Design program in FY20-21.
Tuesday Feb 23, 2021
Road Cross-Section Design for Road Stereotypes and a Safe System
Tuesday Feb 23, 2021
Tuesday Feb 23, 2021
This webinar, presented by Richard Fanning, Noel O’Callaghan and Madeleine Bekavac, is about the guidance on road cross-section design for road stereotypes, which have been developed to assist road managers, planners and designers to achieve improved road safety outcomes through the application of consistent standards along a road corridor.
Practitioners will learn about the thirteen midblock road stereotypes that cover rural and urban roads ranging from freeways and motorways to local access roads. Through a number of case studies, presenters will demonstrate the application of the stereotypes for the development of network safety plans that illustrate how to achieve reductions in crash risk along the network.
Presenters also outline a range of cross-sections with different attributes that were considered appropriate for each road stereotype and assessed for crash risk using the International Road Assessment Program (iRAP) star ratings, the Australian National Risk Assessment Model (ANRAM) fatal and serious injury (FSI) crash prediction models.
A user guide developed to assists practitioners in selecting the most appropriate stereotypes suitable for the needs of their jurisdictions is also discussed.
Monday Feb 22, 2021
Pedestrian Planning and Design for Activity Centres
Monday Feb 22, 2021
Monday Feb 22, 2021
This webinar, presented by Ann-Marie Head and Jeanette Ward, focuses on the planning and design considerations that contribute to walkable activity centres - vibrant places where people shop, work, meet, relax and often live. The session also explains where this information can be found in Austroads’ guides.
The webinar covers the following key topics:
- what data to collect
- planning/network considerations
- examples of applying walkable characteristics
- design considerations
- types of shared space streets
- best practice examples.
This session is the fourth in the series of webinars held by Austroads to step practitioners through the updated pedestrian planning and design information.
Austroads’ review of the pedestrian planning and design guidance in the Guide to Traffic Management (AGTM) and Guide to Road Design (AGRD) identified a total of 120 planning and design gaps. Recommended changes to the AGTM were published in April 2020 followed by a series of exceptionally popular webinars.
Recommended changes to the AGRD have been reviewed and approved by the Road Design Task Force and will find their way into the AGRD as part of its update and restructure planned by the Road Safety & Design program in FY20-21.
Thursday Feb 11, 2021
Transitions Between Steel Beam and Concrete Barriers
Thursday Feb 11, 2021
Thursday Feb 11, 2021
A transition in a safety barrier system is a short section between a more flexible system and a less flexible system to decrease the flexibility gradually along its length. At present there are various transition designs being used by road agencies.
This webinar describes the development, testing and evaluation of a proposed Australasian transition from a strong post public domain W-beam to a concrete barrier.
Presented by Rod Troutbeck, Daniel A. Naish and Jade Hogan.
Tuesday Feb 09, 2021
Road Space Allocation for Pedestrians
Tuesday Feb 09, 2021
Tuesday Feb 09, 2021
Austroads’ review of the pedestrian planning and design guidance in the Guide to Traffic Management (AGTM) and Guide to Road Design (AGRD) identified a total of 120 planning and design gaps. Recommended changes to the AGTM were published in April 2020 followed by a series of exceptionally popular webinars.
Recommended changes to the AGRD have been reviewed and approved by the Road Design Task Force and will find their way into the AGRD as part of its update and restructure planned by the Road Safety & Design program in FY20-21.
This is the first session in the series of webinars to step practitioners through the updated pedestrian planning and design information. It presents how to ensure pedestrians are catered for appropriately in road cross sections, and where to find that information in the Austroads guides.
The webinar is presented by Ann-Marie Head and Jeanette Ward on 9 February 2021.
Tuesday Oct 06, 2020
Updated Roadside Design Guidance: Crash Risk Evaluation Procedure Background
Tuesday Oct 06, 2020
Tuesday Oct 06, 2020
Minimising the risk of roadside crashes is important in reducing the number of fatalities and serious injuries on our roads. The recently updated Part 6 of the Austroads Guide to Road Design includes a new method to determine the risk associated with roadside crashes and to identify where risk mitigation treatments are required on urban and rural road networks. The approach establishes a Network Roadside Risk Threshold (NRRIT) which consistently directs the locations for treatments within projects.
This webinar, presented by Peter Ellis and Rod Troutbeck on 6 October 2020, describes the procedure’s background in detail explaining the concepts and research behind it.
The presentation slides can be downloaded from the supporting documents tab after logging in.
Tuesday Jun 30, 2020
Tuesday Jun 30, 2020
This webinar, presented on 30 June 2020 by Zia Rice, Tyrone Toole and Lory Noya, looks specifically into the use of the life-cycle costing framework and the important components that are considered for the assessment of an unsealed road. Special guest speakers from ARRB’s Asset Management team provide greater detail into the life-cycle costing examples through the presentation of several case studies.
Tuesday Jun 30, 2020
Tuesday Jun 30, 2020
This webinar, presented on 30 June 2020 by Zia Rice, Tyrone Toole and Lory Noya, looks specifically into the use of the life-cycle costing framework and the important components that are considered for the assessment of an unsealed road. Special guest speakers from ARRB’s Asset Management team provide greater detail into the life-cycle costing examples through the presentation of several case studies.