The streets of inner Sydney are about to become more pleasant and safe for people walking and riding, as the local council prepares a rollout of 40km/h speed limits.
The City of Sydney is also planning to reduce speed limits to 30km/h in busy areas where lots of people walk and ride bikes, such as the city centre.
The moves bring the City of Sydney into line with mounting international evidence and a United Nations campaign to make 30km/h speed limits the norm where people and motor traffic mix.
These speed limits improve safety, promote walking and bike riding and make communities more connected, vibrant and liveable. And their normalisation continues apace all around the world.
Brussels, Amsterdam and the entire nation of Wales are a few of the jurisdictions to make 30km/h speed limits the default in recent years, while the Melbourne suburbs of Fitzroy and Collingwood have recently followed this example.
The Spanish city of Bilbao introduced default 30km/h speed limits in 2018 and citizens became less stressed, experienced less health problems and less noise pollution. Meanwhile, the number of bike trips increased almost six-fold.
“When people drive at safer speeds it reduces the number of crashes and their severity, improves safety for people walking and riding and helps to support better place-making,” says Lord Mayor of Sydney, Clover Moore. “Not only will our streets be safer as a result of these important changes, they’ll be quieter and have less exhaust emissions.”
Motorways and state roads managed by the NSW Government will maintain speed limits above 40km/h, though the City of Sydney is working with its state government counterparts to reduce speeds on those roads, too.
Modelling shows that motorists on Sydney’s major roads would be lucky to reach those speeds anyway. As car ownership grows and the population increases, congestion is slowing traffic to less than half the signposted limit on key arterials, averaging 26km/h in 60km/h during peak periods.
For folks needing to get to work, school and the shops, alternatives to car travel are a necessity for city living in the 21st century.
Landmark changes to speed guidelines in NSW last year paved the way for easier implementation of 30km/h streets. This differs from the situation in Victoria, for example, where 30km/h speed limits can only be applied as trials on a case-by-case basis.
The number of local streets in the City of Sydney with 40km/h or lower speed limits has increased from 5% in 2004 to 75% today. The newly announced changes will apply to the remaining regional and local roads with 50km/h speed limits in Glebe, Forest Lodge, Beaconsfield and Waterloo, and some sections of road in Annandale, Redfern, Alexandria, Zetland and Woolloomooloo.
Signage will be installed in the coming weeks denoting the new speed limits, which have drawn the ire of NSW Premier Chris Minns, who described the growing number of 30km/h streets as over the top, telling reporters, “you could walk quicker than that”.
The Premier might want to consider a charge at Olympic gold in Paris with that kind of walking prowess. Though he’ll be confronted by 30km/h streets there, too.
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