TOLLS could be cut on the Cross City Tunnel while the city is congested by major events, and a motorway management team should be established, under recommendations to the government to avoid traffic gridlock.
The Department of Premier and Cabinet and the NRMA have made recommendations to the government after the International Triathlon championships brought Sydney to a standstill last month.
The government should reassess allowing triathlons across the Harbour Bridge, a review by the department says, while the NRMA recommends the appointment of a specific anti-congestion director in the Roads and Traffic Authority.
A maximum target time of three hours to clear major traffic incidents and 25 minutes to clear minor ones should be adopted to minimise the time motorists are stuck in traffic, the NRMA report says.
It also recommends the government decentralise the traffic light network for regional centres and review parking restrictions on major roads, which it says has not been done since before the Sydney Olympics.
The NRMA president, Wendy Machin, said the government needed a new strategy to manage Sydney traffic and make it easier for commuters to get in and around the city.
''There seems to be no overall strategy to make sure the roads are managed properly.
''All too often motorists find themselves stuck in traffic that could have been avoided if there was a new focus on managing congestion,'' she said.
''While there is no doubt Sydney needs to build its missing motorways, we can also make life easier for motorists by adopting simple measures that don't cost billions of dollars.''
Ms Machin said extra traffic signal staff were needed to respond to delays or incidents on the road network.
''With only 15 people responsible for operations over 4000 traffic signals across the state we can't expect the operators to manage them all efficiently.''
The government should also promote flexible working hours to reduce demand during peak hours and improve the ''forgotten transit lanes'', highlighting them using orange so they were more visible.
The department's review calls for the government to make greater use of the privately-owned Cross City Tunnel to minimise the number of motorists in the city.
The government should also establish a dedicated police motorcycle squad to clear blocked intersections and appoint a government spokesman for major events to improve communications.
A spokesman for the Roads Minister, Duncan Gay, said the government was considering its response to the reports.
The traffic delays during the triathlon were partly caused by closing Macquarie and College streets and blocking Shakespeare Place, which meant there were no vehicle crossing points along Macquarie or College streets.
Eastbound traffic from the Western Distributor moving through the city, rather than through the Cross City Tunnel, added to the congestion, as did the competitors who entered the city by car to pick up their bicycles.
