A Melbourne inner city council has voted in favour of 30km speed limits for some of the city’s most popular suburbs.
Yarra Council last night voted unanimously to introduce the limits on almost every street in Fitzroy and Collingwood as part of a two-year trial.
While some streets are already trialling the speed limits, the council voted to expand the speeds to cover local roads from Alexandra Parade to Victoria Parade, excluding major roads like Johnston St, Nicholson St, Hoddle St and Victoria Parade.
Reduced speed limits have been trialled since 2018 in northern parts of Fitzroy and Collingwood, but the limits aren’t yet permanent.
A study commissioned by the council found 80 per cent of the 193 crashes involved ‘vulnerable’ road users, including cyclists and pedestrians, in the past five years.
The study also found there was a 10 per cent chance of death for vulnerable road users in the 30km zone, where the risk increased to 60 percent in a 40km zone.
“That is a huge change for people travelling a little bit slower,” councillor Sophie Wade said.
“I’m so proud that Yarra has been able to lead this, and I hope we can continue to lead.”
The 30kph zones have already been introduced in Falls Creek, Port Campbell, Warrnambool, and Swanston Street in Melbourne.
The effectiveness of the trials are being monitored by the state government, who is already considering further trials for roads with high levels of vulnerable users.
Yarra council has voted to introduce 30-kilometre-per-hour speed limits for almost every street in the inner-Melbourne suburbs of Fitzroy and Collingwood, as part of a two-year trial to improve road safety.
On Tuesday night, the council unanimously supported a plan to expand an existing 30kph speed zone to cover all local roads from Alexandra Parade to Victoria Parade, excluding Johnston Street, Nicholson Street, Hoddle Street and Victoria Parade.
The decision means the City of Yarra could begin the expanded trial as early as February 2024, pending state government approval and external funding.
The effectiveness of the trials would be monitored over time by the government to determine whether the speed limit would be made permanent.
30kph zones have also been implemented in other parts of the state, including Falls Creek, Port Campbell, Liebig St in Warrnambool and Swanston Street in Melbourne.
The move to improve road safety comes as Victoria’s road toll hits a 15-year high.
Two hundred and fifty eight people have died on the state’s roads so far this year — higher than the number of deaths in all of 2022, when 241 people died.
(ABC / 9 NEWS)
