Residents of the Tamworth Regional Council area will have better access to real-time traffic information from October thanks to the expansion of the NSW Government’s Live Traffic NSW website and app.

Member for Tamworth Kevin Anderson said drivers in the region would have an easy-to-access platform through which they could get up-to-date information, especially through fire and flood.

“Over the past year, we have experienced the full impact of road closures with a particularly wet couple of seasons resulting in our roads going underwater,” Mr Anderson said.

“Council does a great job of getting out to inspect roads, keeping the community informed on road closures online, on social media and on local radio.

“This expansion of the Live Traffic NSW app gives them another outlet to update the community, meaning residents can stay informed and plan their travel safely.”

Minister for Regional Transport and Roads Sam Farraway said feedback from communities and recommendations from the Royal Commission into National Natural Disaster Arrangements Report were taken on board to develop ‘OneRoad’ a backend portal for councils to feed their data into Live Traffic NSW so road impacts across local and state roads are all in the one place.

“The initial 22 LGAs have been chosen in consultation with the NSW Police, RFS and SES with the view to have all 128 LGAs across the state on board by 2024,” Mr Farraway said. 

“LGAs will continue to come onboard in stages, with the priority given to the regional councils who have been impacted most by bushfires and floods.

“In the event of road closures through floods or fires, they will no longer have to piece together information from different sources to work out what roads are open and safe to use.

“By bringing all of the state’s traffic information into one central hub we will improve the experience of road users, helping to keep drivers moving and our communities safe.”

This year during natural disasters the Live Traffic NSW website and mobile app traffic spiked up to 33 times the usual daily volume, with up to 660,000 sessions in one day, demonstrating the demand for real-time traffic information in a crisis.

Tamworth Region Mayor, Russell Webb said the ability for councils to share info via this tool is a great win, particularly for areas impacted by extreme weather events.

“Having this one-stop digital shop for disruption across the road network is an invaluable tool for any community, especially one looking for a clear road out during a natural disaster,” Mr Webb said.

“Our community knows how crucial coordination is across government so the ability for local road impacts to now be fed into Live Traffic NSW and navigational systems by our Council is a big step in the right direction, ensuring community members have access to the latest information at their fingertips.”

The new information from 22 LGAs will be available on Live Traffic NSW and third-party apps from October.