Sydney drivers could be forced to slow down as another local council looks to reduce speed limits to 40km/h on urban local roads.
Inner West Council on Tuesday will vote on a plan to lower the speed limit to 40km/h on all local roads as well as cutting the limit on thoroughfares such as Marrickville Road, Victoria Road and Edgeware Road from 60 km/h to 50 km/h.
The lower speed limit would apply across a swathe of inner west suburbs from Newtown and Marrickville to Ashfield and Haberfield.
Inner West councillor Pauline Lockie said lower speed limits in Sydney’s inner west “will be scarcely noticeable to drivers”.Credit: Dion Georgopoulos
A Transport for NSW spokesman said the department was working with the council to identify local roads suitable for speed reductions in line with the NSW speed zoning standard, which was introduced in July.
“Lower speed zones allow members of the community to walk, cycle and move around in a safer environment and have been introduced in close consultation with local councils,” he said.
In a crash between a car and a pedestrian, there is a 90 per cent chance that a pedestrian will survive at 30km/h, 60 per cent chance at 40km/h and a 10 per cent chance at 50 km/h.
“Even a small difference in vehicle speed can make a large difference to the likelihood of death or serious injury on our roads,” he said.
Reducing speed limits increases the likelihood that a pedestrian will survive if they are hit by a car.Credit: Dion Georgopoulos
A council spokesman said there was ample evidence to suggest that safety and liveability are improved by reducing speeds on local roads.
Inner West councillor Pauline Lockie said lower speed limits reduced the number and severity of crashes.
“Safer speed limits on our local roads have a minimal impact on drivers’ travel times, but a big impact on safety, place-making and our local environment,” she said.
Lockie said the Inner West@40 study found reducing the speed limit to 40km/h added a maximum of 26 seconds to travel times during the weekday peak, and 37 seconds on weekends.
“Most of the time we lose while driving comes from waiting at intersections, turning, parking and general traffic congestion, none of which are affected by safer speed limits on local streets,” she said. “The impact of this change will be scarcely noticeable to drivers.”
Lockie also backed the study’s call to look at 30km/h limits on roads with schools and other areas with high pedestrian and cyclist activity.
“This isn’t about being anti-car,” she said. “Designing our streets, so they genuinely meet people’s needs – whether they’re walking, riding, using public transport or driving – makes our cities more liveable, sustainable and successful for everyone.”
Speed limits of 40km/h are typically restricted to school zones, but it already applies to the Balmain peninsula, which the study said has “successfully created a safer environment for vulnerable road users”.
Most roads in the City of Sydney already have a 40km/h speed limit, with calls to lower speed limits around childcare centres to match school zones and introduce 30km/h zones in dense residential areas.
Fines totalling more than $200 million were issued to NSW drivers for speeding in school zones in the past six years, with drivers in Sydney’s northern beaches the worst offenders.
WalkSydney spokeswoman Lena Huda welcomed the council’s plan to cut speeds but said motorists should be limited to 30km/h on local streets.
Huda said cities such as Berlin, Tokyo, London and Paris had 30km/h speed limits on most local streets: “The global best practice is to set 30km/h speed limits where cars mix with people walking and cycling.”
An NRMA spokesman said the motoring organisation did not support arbitrary cutting of speed limits across council areas.
“We want speed limits to be evidence-based regardless of whether it is increased or decreased,” he said.
He said the speed limits should be based on the performance of individual roads and factors such as traffic volumes, crash history and engineering.
Speed limit changes were often poorly communicated and signposted, which he said, “is very bad because people have to guess what the speed limits are”.
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