In a first-of-its-kind collaboration, City of Canterbury Bankstown partnered with The George Institute for Global Health to trial a new community-driven approach to road safety that brings the community to the centre of the solution.

A 19-person Community Jury recently concluded four weeks of deliberations aimed at steering away from engineering interventions and creating a shift in driver behaviour.

Over the course of four meetings, the jurors, everyday residents from across Canterbury-Bankstown, engaged directly with road safety experts and shared their lived experiences to co-develop ideas that could help reduce speeding-related harm in our neighbourhoods.

Canterbury-Bankstown Mayor Bilal El-Hayek praised the initiative and said he is proud of the community for taking action on an issue that impacts everybody.

"This is about community-led change. Who better to inform solutions than the people directly impacted by dangerous driving?” Mayor El-Hayek said.

“I commend every juror for their commitment to making our streets safer for all."

One of those jurors was Bankstown resident, Mahmood who described the experience as unexpectedly eye-opening.

“I don’t hear of too many opportunities where people in the community get their voices heard like this. I’m on the road a lot, and I was genuinely curious about what Council is doing to tackle speeding,” he said.

The jury considered questions surrounding how to generate community acceptance and demand for safe speeds, what information most effectively builds understanding and how to shift public attitudes toward safer driving.

Their recommendations, which included ideas like engaging social media campaigns, transparently sharing crash data and empowering local leaders to speak to their communities, are now in the process of being formally assessed by Council and The George Institute.

“My expectations were exceeded. The way they carried it out was very professional and it felt like they genuinely valued our input,” Mahmood said, reflecting on the process.

At least one of the initiatives developed by the jury will be implemented across the City, backed by a $25,000 budget allocation.

Mahmood believes initiatives like this should be adopted more widely.

“This kind of thing bridges the gap between councils and the community. It’s commendable that Canterbury-Bankstown put their hand up to do it, not every council would. And honestly, people want to be involved. So many applied to be a part of the jury. That says a lot,” he said.

“I want to commend the hard work of Council’s Road Safety Officers and the Traffic Team for their amazing involvement in this project as I continue to hear great feedback from everyone involved,” Mayor El-Hayek said.

For more information on how to stay safe our roads visit: Road safety | City of Canterbury Bankstown