Places to stop and rest

Places to stop and rest overview

Summary of indicator

Objective

To measure the provision, capacity, safe access and fitness-for-purpose of mid-trip rest facilities.

Application guidance

Adequate provision of mid-trip rest facilities is essential for maintaining the safety and comfort of motorists and heavy vehicle operators on long journeys on the road network. Similarly, sustainable modes of transport can be made the easy and natural choice for all when regular places to stop and rest are provided.

This indicator will support practitioners to understand how the provision of suitable rest facilities can support safe journeys.

Based on the outcome of the assessment, practitioners can determine whether additional and/or improved rest facilities should be considered.

Practitioners can use the distance between rest areas metric to measure whether the distance between rest stops on State roads is aligned with Austroads standards.

Metric

Distance between rest areas

Related indicators

	Access and Connection Freight network accessibility
	Amenity and Use Transport node facilities
	Green and Blue Tree canopy
	Comfort and Safety Road safety Community safety Urban heat

Recommendation

• To enrich the RAMS State road data, manual collection of informal rest areas such as town centres or high streets and commercial facilities should be undertaken
• Heavy vehicle traffic volumes could be considered in the methodology for a more robust analysis of potential demand for rest areas/facilities
• Public seating, including both informal and formal opportunities, should be captured through manual data collection to consider rest facilities for people walking along their journeys. This could be analysed specifically around sensitive locations (i.e. schools, nursing homes) where provision of these facilities is more important.

Metric in detail