Mitcham Council proposes 40km/h speed zones for four more suburbs

A council in Adelaide’s south is pushing to slow down cars in even more suburbs. Take our poll.

Mitcham Council is proposing fresh speed limit cuts at four more suburbs. Picture: Phil Williams

Mitcham Council is pushing for new speed limit cuts after targeting four more suburbs for future 40km/h zones.

The council wants to lower the 50km/h speed limit to 40 at Melrose Park, Clarence Gardens, Pasadena and St Marys, after previously seeking community feedback on trial 40km/h speed limits at Cumberland Park, Daw Park and Colonel Light Gardens West.

Mayor Heather Holmes-Ross said lower speed limits would make the suburbs safer, deter rat running and encourage people to use “active transport”.

“The suburbs are congested, and there’s a lot of rat running through them,” she said.

“We’re concerned that children and their parents don’t use the streets because it’s too dangerous.

“So, we’re wanting to almost reclaim the streets to make them safe for the people that live on them.

“It’s about prioritising people’s amenity on the streets they live, rather than prioritising the people that cut through using them.”

The council is seeking public feedback on the proposal, which would not reduce speed limits on main roads or distributor roads including Edward St, Winston Ave, Daws Rd and Cashel St.

Mitcham Council is proposing fresh speed limit cuts at four more suburbs. Picture: Phil Williams

Ms Holmes-Ross said generally the community supported lower speed limits, especially families, but “you do have the odd revhead that would rather go fast than be safe”.

A survey by The Advertiser in March found 15 of Adelaide’s 17 metro councils had proposed or put in place significant speed limit cuts since 2019.

Adelaide City councillor Henry Davis, who campaigned against the city council’s proposed 30km/h blanket speed limit before it was rejected in January, said the trend of reducing speed limits was a “serious misstep by all councils”.

“Five extra minutes every day over a year is a lot of time,” he said in March. “It’s a lot of cost to residents, and it makes it harder to live in Adelaide.”

Jamie Mackenzie, a senior research fellow at Adelaide University’s Centre for Automotive Safety Research, in March defended the trend, saying driving slower on council-owned roads was a small inconvenience that could save someone’s life.

He said research showed the human body could withstand being hit by a car at 30km/h, but the likelihood of death significantly increased at 50km/h. At a speed limit of 40km/h, drivers were more likely to slow down to 30km/h before hitting someone.

Mr McKenzie conceded fewer crashes occurred on local roads, because they were used by fewer drivers.

Originally published as Mitcham Council proposes 40km/h speed zones for four more suburbs