Traffic Committee

Overview

The Local Traffic Committee is established to provide advice to Council which enables Council to meet its responsibilities to Transport for NSW (TfNSW) as part of the powers delegated to it by TfNSW under the Transport Administration Act 1988. The Committee is an independent technical advisory Committee that assists Council to fulfil its responsibilities.  

The Committee is established in accordance with A guide to the delegation to Councils for the regulation of Traffic (including the operation of Traffic Committees) (the Guidelines), published by TfNSW. 

The Committee is not a committee within the meaning of the Local Government Act 1993.  Its operating arrangements and responsibilities are detailed in the Guidelines.  The Committee is primarily a technical review committee which is required to advise Council on matters referred to it which relate to prescribed traffic control devices and traffic control facilities for which Council has delegated authority. 

Council must refer all traffic related matters to the Committee prior to exercising its delegated functions. The Committee is required to advise Council on matters referred to it by Council and does not have decision making powers. 

All sessions are livestreamed and you can find the recordings for meetings in the Traffic Committee minutes and agendas below.

Traffic Committee minutes and agendas

Search Minutes & Agendas

Terms of reference

The local Traffic Committee Terms of Reference can be accessed below;

Local Traffic Committee Terms of Reference(PDF, 661KB)

The formal composition of the Committee for voting purposes is prescribed by the Guidelines.

The Committee consists of four formal (voting) members:
  • Council – Manager Assets or their sub-delegate
  • TfNSW – Southern Region representative
  • NSW Police Force – Goulburn Local Area Command representative
  • Member of State Parliament (MP) – the local MP for Wollondilly or Goulburn (or their nominee), depending on the location of the issue to be voted upon.

The Committee has additional informal (non-voting) advisors who can provide input.  These include:
  • Council meeting Convenor – Traffic Engineer
  • Council Coordinator Regulatory Services
  • Berrima Buslines representative
  • Southern Highlands Taxis, Hire Cars and Coaches representative

Functions of the Traffic Committee

The Local Traffic Committee (LTC) considers traffic management and special event proposals on local roads and makes recommendations which are reported to the next available Council Meeting.  No action can be taken on matters discussed at the LTC until the recommendations have been adopted by Council.

The LTC can only consider the following items, under Council’s TfNSW delegated functions:

  • Regulatory road signs and markings, including parking restrictions;
  • Traffic control measures such as pedestrian crossings, median and traffic islands and traffic calming devices, such as speed humps, chicanes and slow points;
  • On street parking schemes and temporary road (or part) closures for special events such as street parades, fun runs and community celebrations.

  • The LTC meets approximately every three months, but in some cases the urgent matters can be dealt with using electronic meetings. 

Special events

A special event (in traffic management terms) is any planned activity that is wholly or partly conducted on a road reserve, requires multiple agency involvement such as Councils, Police and TfNSW, requires special traffic management arrangements, and may involve large numbers of participants and/or spectators. Examples are marathons, fun runs, cycling events, parades, marches and street markets.

The definition also applies to events conducted in their own venue if the event requires special traffic management arrangements and multiple agency support.

Special event organisers will need to demonstrate compliance with a number of requirements. The first step is to make a written submission including a complete Traffic Management Plan to Council for referral to the LTC.

Special events require a specific approvals process and you must allow plenty of time between the submission and the event date (usually between 4-6 months). The submission will be included on the LTC Meeting Agenda and recommendations of the Committee will be reported to the next Council meeting for adoption.  

An indicative timeline of the Special Event approval process as relates to traffic management plans can be found below;

Events Application Timeline

Note: If the event will be conducted on public land, parks, reserves or playgrounds, a Community Facilities Booking Form may be required. 

Additional information on staging a Special Event can be accessed at:  

Guide to traffic and transport management for special events

Members of the public can apply to address the Committee on traffic related matters, by agreement of the Committee.  The matter must be an Agenda item on the business paper. 

Complete the application to address the Traffic Committee here.  

2024 Traffic Committee meeting dates

  • Thursday, 15 February 2024 | 10:00 AM - 12:00 PM
  • Thursday, 21 March 2024 | 10:00 AM - 12:00 PM
  • Thursday, 16 May 2024 | 10:00 AM - 12:00 PM
  • Thursday, 18 July 2024 | 10:00 AM - 12:00 PM
  • Thursday, 19 September 2024 | 10:00 AM - 12:00 PM
  • Thursday, 21 November 2024 | 10:00 AM - 12:00 PM

Public participation

The role of the committee is to consider the technical aspects of any proposal and make a recommendation to Council. The Guidelines provide that the merits of the scheme, from a public perspective, is the responsibility of Council and thus residents’ views should be taken into account by Council rather than the Committee.

That withstanding, in accordance with the Guidelines, public participation in LTC Meetings can take two forms:

  • Public gallery - residents or media representatives can attend as a public gallery to observe the LTC Meeting.
  • Public presentation - residents can register to present to the LTC for an item that features on the LTC Meeting agenda. The presentation is to not exceed four (4) minutes and is only available for residents - media representatives cannot present to the LTC.

Registration to present at LTC Meetings will be available via the Council website and will be open one week prior to the LTC Meeting date.

If a resident wishes to raise a new traffic related request or concern, this to be submitted to Council through Customer Service, email or phone – as per the current process for receipt of enquiries, requests and/or concerns. The LTC is a technical review committee that is to advise Council on traffic related matters referred to it by Council - and so all matters being considered by LTC need to have already been investigated & considered by Council.

In accordance with the Guidelines, the Committee may at its discretion elect to make decisions in closed Committee.