Norwood, Payneham & St Peter’s Council votes to stick with 50km/h speed limit, rather than reduce to 40km/h

THERE’LL be no blanket 40km/h across Norwood and its surrounding suburbs after residents argued the move could cause congestion — and wasn’t even guaranteed to reduce accidents.

Group read about the proliferation of new 40km/h speed limits. Dr Bruce Corben used to work with the Monash University Accident Research Centre where he researched speed limits and fatality prevention. Fitzroy Street, St Kilda recently became a 40km/h street with the busy beach side thoroughfare catering for trams, trucks, cars and pedestrians. Picture: Chris Eastman

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EASTERN suburbs residents have put the brakes on a Norwood, Payneham & St Peter’s Council push to make all streets in the district 40km/h zones.

Councillors voted at a meeting last night to stick with 50km/h speed limits across the district because there was not enough support from the community to lower it.

Results of a consultation on a council-wide 40km/h speed limit showed 1991 out of 6035 respondents to a survey — or 32 per cent — wanted reduced speeds on local streets.

The survey cost the council $60,000.

Mayor Robert Bria stood by the council’s decision not to change the limits but also slammed the process, labelling the plan an “extravagant thought bubble”.

He said some councillors ignored a staff recommendation to collect speed data before considering whether a survey was required.

“From day one, I opposed this flawed process because there is no evidence speeding is a problem across the council area,” Mr Bria said.

“The community will not embrace a significant change to local road rules without being presented with a compelling case for change, which is something council failed to do.

“Council policies on traffic speeds should be based on reliable data, not vague and abstract phrases about improved amenity.”

According to a council report, some of the reasons residents opposed reducing the speed limit included:

IT would cause more congestion;

THERE was no evidence that it will decrease accidents and;

TRAFFIC calming devices should be introduced instead.

The RAA also opposes blanket 40km/h speed limits across council areas.

But councillor Sophia MacRae, who campaigned for lower speed limits, told the meeting the results of the survey were disappointing.

“I’d refer to it (the results) as the expected answer when a survey is put out … with only two lines provided to give residents an explanation,” Cr MacRae said.

“I would’ve liked this to be an opportunity for (the) council to show some leadership and provide some data that we have from benefits of slower speeds.”

Norwood Residents Association spokesman Ian Radbone, who is also chairman of the Bicycle Institute of SA, said the results of the survey were not surprising.

“Speaking as the spokesman of the residents association, the outcome was not surprising given it was put on residents out of the blue without any case being made,” Dr Radbone said.

“The residents association wondered about the point of the exercise and whether the council really thought about how it conducted it and why it was conducting it.”

At least 30 per cent of residents needed to respond to the consultation, and two-thirds of those needed to support lower speed limits, if the council was to ask the State Government to reduce the speed.

The council first mooted reducing the speed limit to 40km/h on all streets — apart from The Parade, between Shipsters Rd, and Portrush Rd — in March to improve the area for walkers, cyclists and mobility scooter users.