A Coronial Inquest into two separate deaths on the Bruce Highway north of Townsville in 2015 linked the deaths to local populations of feral horses. The Coroner handed down a number of recommendations, and identified TMR as the lead agency to develop and implement a Joint Management Plan with key stakeholders, including Townsville City Council, to manage the risk to road user from animals on roads. There was a significant focus on information and data gathering, analysis and reporting protocols.
The risk to road users from animals on the road like feral horses and deer is not isolated to the Townville area. To facilitate data gathering and information sharing across Queensland, it was decided that TMR would build a Spatial TDx App that allow parties to local Joint Management Plans, including TMR, local government, Department of Agriculture and Fisheries, HQ Plantations, Department of Defence and Queensland Police Services to enter data. The ‘Animals on or Near Roads’ App is used by parties to record the sightings of non-native animals on or near roads.
This tool is critical for collecting, sharing, and storing information, to analyse and identify locations of risk and escalating risk along the network and select intervention requirements. Department of Transport and Main Roads Districts (PDO) are responsible for management of records collected within the App.
This presentation will discuss the Spatial TDx environment. The development and deployment of the ‘Animals on or Near Road App’ and its benefits.