Speed limits lowered, new technology to cut pedestrian crashes and protect seniors
Speed limits will be slashed and ‘senior citizen safety zones’ will be introduced across Brisbane to protect slow walkers and elderly people from pedestrian crashes. JOIN THE DEBATE
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SPEED limits will be slashed and new technology deployed at pedestrian crossings in a Brisbane City Council bid to stamp out pedestrian crashes.
The Courier-Mail can reveal the council will introduce senior citizen safety zones in areas where there are a significant number of people over 60.
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The move is designed to protect some of the city’s most vulnerable pedestrians and could lead to speed reductions and increased crossing times to cater for slower walkers.
Signs could also be installed to remind motorists of slow-moving pedestrians. The council will consider two sites at Moorooka and Stones Corner for the first round of senior citizen safety zones.
The council decided to take action following a spate of serious pedestrian crashes. Seven people were killed crossing Brisbane roads between January and November this year.
The council will also consider reducing speed limits near some of Brisbane’s most popular shopping and village precincts to 40km/h.
It is understood the council will consider lowering the speed limit on Station Rd, near Indooroopilly Shopping Centre; Vulture St, at West End; Flinders Pde, at Sandgate; and Beaudesert Rd, at Moorooka.
As The Courier-Mail revealed earlier this year, 40km/h zones will also be rolled out near Sunnybank Plaza, Old Cleveland Rd, at Stones Corner, and Oxley Rd, at Corinda, with the changes to come into effect before March.
It will also trial Smart Crossings, which will monitor how many pedestrians are waiting to cross a road and how long it will take them to do so.
The new technology is expected to be deployed at the intersection of Telegraph and Lemke roads, at Fitzgibbon, and at Shaw Rd, Kedron.
The measures are to be announced today, when the council hands down its Citywide Pedestrian Safety Review.
Lord Mayor Graham Quirk said the new measures were not about frustrating motorists, but improving conditions for pedestrians.
“There’s a whole range of areas of the city that we know are key areas where there are special needs (for pedestrians),” he said.
“Schools have clearly been identified previously as one of those.
“We know that, for example, older people need a little extra time to get across the street safely and so we want to look at some measures around safety.”
Cr Quirk said he wanted to assure motorists that statistical evidence would drive the decisions council made when implementing safety zones.
The council will also consider improving several suburban zebra crossings by the end of next year, including one at Logan Rd, Woolloongabba, and another at Orange Grove Rd, Salisbury.
The council has already started implementing safety measures to safeguard pedestrians, including lowering the speed limit on Ann St, in the CBD, to 40km/h.
Scramble crossings will also be installed at the intersections of Albert and Charlotte streets, as well as Albert and Mary streets.
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