The Macedon Ranges Shire Council’s Draft Open Space Strategy needs to widen its scope and include local roads outside town boundaries increasingly being used by residents for exercise and recreation.
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As peri-urban and regional town populations grow the increasing number of pedestrians and cyclists sharing default 100km/h roads outside built-up areas face serious injury and death unless Safe System Speeds are adopted by Federal, State and Territory transport departments.
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Wildlife vehicle collision road hotspots are identified with insurance company claims data but is not used by state Transport Departments to assist in setting appropriate maximum speed limits on rural roads to reduce vehicle occupant casualties and their enormous health care costs.
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On 7 August 2025 all members of the Senate Standing Committee on Environment and Communications were emailed a request to consider an inquiry into the adequacy of the Commonwealth of Australia’s Road Safety and Environment Protection policies, visions and regulations to cope with the biodiversity and human consequences of wildlife vehicle collisions.
Read MoreIn the seventh article in the series ‘Wildlife road kills versus Vision Zero 2050’ freelance journalist Patrick Francis examines wildlife
Read MoreFigure: The jurisdiction black hole for wildlife vehicle collision between Australia’s Strategy for Nature 2024 – 2030 and the Safe
Read MoreIn this sixth article in the series ‘Wildlife road kills versus Vision Zero 2050’, freelance journalist Patrick Francis examines what
Read MoreIn the fifth article in the series ‘Wildlife road kills versus Vision Zero 2050’ Patrick Francis explores existing initiatives which provide transport departments with an avenue for including wildlife in road crash risk assessment.
Read MoreIn the fourth article in his wildife road kills series Patrick Francis questions why Safe System principles ignore rural road pedestrians safety as well as wildlife vehicle collisions.
Read MorePatrick Francis interrogates the road crash statistics generated by numerous federal and state government departments for clues to why millions of wildlife become road kill each year.
Read MorePatrick Francis reviews the published evidence behind the disconnect between Australian drivers attitude to maximum speed limits and the messages behind tens of thousands of wildlife warning signs installed across regional, rural and remote road networks.
Read MorePatrick Francis examines why there are tens of thousands of yellow wildlife warning signs along Australia’s rural and regional roads but no guidance to drivers from state transport and environment departments about what speed should be embraced to prevent vehicle wildlife collisions, vehicle occupant casualties and road kills.
Read MoreA comparison of two councils climate emergency plans one with emission reduction targets, the other without them.
Read MoreBy Patrick Francis In October 2023 the Macedon Ranges Shire Council requested submissions about its Draft Climate Emergency Plan 2023
Read MoreThe Macedon Ranges Shire Council had an opportunity to give its residents an enlightened road safety plan to enhance living in a rural setting and interacting with nature. Instead its plan continues to prioritise driver convenience above public and wildlife safety on rural roads close to shire towns.
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If re-written with a vision to embrace solutions to lower greenhouse gas emissions, abate carbon dioxide, use nature to address the Climate and Biodiversity emergencies, and encourage local food production, the Romsey Structure Plan would provide a blue print for sustainable development within town boundaries across the shire and give resident families the life styles they move to the shire to experience.
Read MoreWildlife rescues and road kills increasing as vehicle drivers maximum speed limit remains unaltered in wildlife hot spots.
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Draft Local Community Laws 2023 seem to ignore impacts to residents and visitors of inappropriate driver speed on minor rural roads, local light planes, and inadequate weed and feral animal control.
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The Macedon Ranges Shire Council’s Draft Rural Land Use Strategy fails to incorporate climate change abatement, carbon and biodiversity farming, and local food production as key issues for future landholders.
Read MoreWildlife road kills continue on minor rural roads west of Romsey which have a default 100km per hour maximum speed limit when the safe speed for wildlife, pedestrians and cyclists is less that 50km per hour.
Read MoreWildlife taking advantage of improving natural capital on Moffitts Farm are being killed by vehicles on surrounding roads.
Read MoreThe Romsey Structure Plan Options and Scenarios fail to account for their housing estates greenhouse production and the lost opportunity to sequester greenhouse gases and recover biodiversity with enlightened farm land use change around the town.
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Shire town residents are increasingly using nearby minor rural roads for exercise and nature observation, it means a new era of vehicle speed restrictions is required to protect public safety.
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The Macedon Ranges Shire Council’s draft Road Management Plan takes no account of increasing numbers of pedestrians on some minor rural roads and increased wildlife population on roadside verges and surrounding farm and public land. It provides no data on vehicle road maintenance diesel use and their greenhouse gas emissions trends.
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Patrick Francis provides feedback to the Macedon Ranges Shire Council’s draft Roadside Conservation Management Plan.
Read MoreVictoria’s state government departments responsible for maximum speed limits on minor rural roads and safety and welfare of wildlife do not recognize vehicles travelling to fast to avoid collisions with wildlife on minor rural roads, are the cause of an increasing number of wildlife road kills and injuries.
Read MoreRoad kills of native animals are avoidable on minor rural roads in the Macedon Ranges and adjacent shires. To achieve this traffic speeds on these roads must be legally limited to a maximum of 40 km/hr.
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