Victoria has enacted a new speed limit law allowing local councils to reduce their speed limits to 30km/h in school zones and city streets.
It follows new research which found dropping residential speed limits would significantly boost pedestrian and cycling safety without majorly affecting car trip times.
Councils like the City of Yarra have been trialling the 30km/h speed limit in Fitzroy and Collingwood since 2018, expanding the trial in May 2024 in other high pedestrian traffic areas.
Transport Victoria has highlighted the importance of reduced speed limits, explaining pedestrians or vulnerable road users like children or cyclists are more likely to die or be seriously injured from a crash involving speeds above 30km/h.
Study Lead from RMIT University Dr Afshin Jafari said while the suggested 30km/h might seem slow, it will have little impact on trip duration, with modelling showing the average short local trip only increased by about one minute.
“Most trips should use residential streets only at the start and finish, so 30kph rather than 50kph on those short sections makes little difference,” he said.
“Slowing down vehicles is a cheap and effective way to improve safety while we wait for longer-term infrastructure upgrades.”
While residential speed limits are dealt with on a case-to-case basis, councils around Victoria are welcoming the suggestion of a 30km/h change.
Whittlesea infrastructure and environment director Debbie Wood said the updated guidelines provide more options for improved safety on local streets.
“The City of Whittlesea welcomes the update to the Speed Zoning Guidelines and the inclusion of 30km/h speed limits, which provide a broader suite of options to improve safety on our local streets,” she said.
“While council has no immediate plans to implement 30km/h speed limits, we are committed to exploring opportunities where lower speed environments could deliver safety benefits particularly in areas with high volumes of vulnerable road users, such as school precincts and activity centres.”
While travelling on-foot, using public transport or bicycle riding is often seen as the domain of city commuters, Jafari said outer suburbs stood to benefit the most from lower speed limits.
“Outer suburban streets often don’t even have footpaths, let alone other infrastructure to separate bicycle riders and pedestrians from motorists,” he said.
