Willoughby Council rethinks contentions speed limit cut for Castlecrag after mixed response from shop owners, residents

A local council has put the brakes on plans to slash road speed limits in a north shore town centre after facing mixed reactions from motorists, shop owners and residents.

Willoughby Council has put the brakes on plans to cut speed limits in the town centre.

A north shore council has put the brakes on plans to slash road speed limits in the Castlecrag town centre after facing mixed feedback from motorists, shop owners and residents.

Concerns over traffic congestion and impacts on local businesses have prompted traffic planners at Willoughby Council to rethink a proposal to reduce speed limits on Edinburgh Rd from 50kmh to 40kmh.

The proposal was aimed at improving pedestrian safety in the shopping strip by encouraging motorists to slow down.

But after facing opposition from some residents, the council is expected to delay the 40km scheme until a major planned redevelopment of the town centre’s main shopping centre is completed – a process that could take at least two years to complete.

The proposed redevelopment of the shopping centre would involve demolishing and rebuilding the centre into a new $71 million retail and apartment complex that would stand up to five storeys tall.

A concept image of the potential road treatments the council had planned for the town centre.

Business owners raised concerns that introducing a 40kmh limit could cause additional roadway construction activity that would discourage shoppers from the area.

“Assuming that the Quadrangle redevelopment is approved the site will become a construction site for several years (the) development work on the roadworks will have a further detrimental impact on our businesses,” feedback to the council stated.

Residents opposed to the development stated reduced speed limit could exacerbate traffic bottlenecks while others questioned the demand for the lower speed limit.

A concept image of the Quadrangle shopping centre redevelopment.

Some residents even suggested that the low speeds could make safety worse as drivers would have to concentrate more on their speedometers instead of observing potential traffic issues around them.

However, a survey by the council showed a majority of 72 per cent of residents supported an eventual 40kmh limit in the town centre.

Some of the biggest supporters of the reduced speed limits were cyclists with some calling for the speed limits to be dropped even further to 30kmh and for a protected bike lane to be added to improve safety for cyclists.

Other supporters of the 30kmh hour limits say it would improve safety for pedestrians and deter cars from speeding as they enter and exit Eastern Valley Way.

The proposal come as other councils push ahead with dropping speed limits in busy pedestrian stops including Mosman which wants 50kmh reduced to 40kmh on the Balmoral beachfront and in Mosman’s main Military Rd shopping strip.

The council had planned various options to accommodate the new speeds including signage, road markings and other traffic calming and pedestrian safety works as well as potentially relocating a bus stop to make way for pedestrian works.