More Victorian city streets could see a speed limit of 30 km/h imposed if the independent infrastructure advisory body of the state has established its 30-year plan.
Infrastructure Victoria has released its latest concept of 30-year strategy for the state and calls on the government to “lower speed limits to 30 km/h in local streets, starting in places that children often visit, including around schools, playgrounds, childcare centers and kindergartens”.
The advisory body has estimated that this costs $ 35 million, including “changing speed limit policy and working with local authorities to install speed limit signs”, with financing that comes from the income of the national and federal government and road safety programs.
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According to data in the strategy document, almost 300 children are seriously injured in Australia every year, with a majority of incidents that occur on local roads with speed limits of 50 km/h.
“Longer speeds make streets safer. They have little effect on travel times with the car, “is the document of the Victoria infrastructure.
“A pedestrian that is hit by a car at 50 km/h has a chance of 85 percent to die and a 40 percent chance at 40 km/h. With 30 km/h this drops to 10 percent.
“Some councils already have lower speed limits for safety. For example, the city of Yarra introduced 30 km/h zones in the suburbs of Fitzroy and Collingwood.
“The Victorian government must update its speed limit policy and collaborate with local authorities to update speed limit signs to set 30 km/h -limits, starting with local streets around places that children often visit.
“Schools, playgrounds, childcare centers and nursery schools must all have lower speed limits around them. The current speed zone of 40 km/h only applies to schools and some other busy areas. The changes must apply to streets with current speed limits of 50 km/h or less. “
As mentioned by Infrastructure Victoria, Yarra Council introduced a speed limit of 30 km/h in 2018 on a few Collingwood and Fitzroy streets, before he expanded his test in 2024.
In November 2023 Victoria Police Chief Commissioner Shane Patton ABC Radio Melbourne The speed limits of 30 km/h were “not the answer” to reduce the weighing of the state and describe the boundaries as “ridiculous”.
In addition to the speed limit reduction, the advisory body says that changes in infrastructure can be made to make roads safer for pedestrians.
“Governments can upgrades in the field of infrastructure on streets where the speeds are reduced to show how these changes benefit the community,” says it.
The proposal was welcomed by health experts from the Monash University of Victoria.
“30 km/h Speedzones are one of the most cost -effective interventions that we can use to improve the safety and quality of life of local streets,” said Dr. Lauren Pearson, Research of Research Fellow and Equity within the Sustainable Mobility and Safety Research Group in Monash University’s School of Public medicine.
“In the midst of a physical activity and a mental health crisis, increasing route meters and a climate emergency, the need for interventions such as these to enable people to use active mobility (walking and cycling) is more important than ever.
“We have seen the effect of these speed zones in places such as Wales, Canada, Scotland, Colombia and throughout Europe.
“In Toronto, Canada there was a reduction of 67 percent in serious injury after the implementation of 30 km/h speed zones. Fatal and serious injuries in London fell by 46 percent in areas of 30 km/h speeds, with a further eight percent reduction in adjacent areas.
“But we are far behind this in Australia – there are only two areas in Victoria where they have been implemented and they are only on trial.
‘We have [a] Strong and growing amount of evidence for the enormous benefits of these interventions, and continuous calls for their implementation of not only this report from Infrastructure Victoria, but from a recent parliamentary research into road safety, and of the World Health Organization. “
In 2024, 33 of the 1306 reported weighed in Australia took place on roads with a speed limit of 40 km/h or less. 129 dead were reported on roads with a speed limit of 50 km/h.
More: even Victoria’s police think that 30 km/u speed limits are ‘ridiculous’
