Renewed calls for major road rule change that could affect millions
Both pedestrians and drivers would be safer, and the city would be more attractive to visitors if we lowered speed limits to 30km/h, Bicycle NSW CEO argues.
Calls are again mounting on governments to reduce speed limits in densely populated urban areas, which advocates say will not only save lives and reduce the rate of road trauma, but also make shared spaces more attractive to pedestrians and travellers.
In July, the City of Sydney announced speed limits on all metro streets would be reduced to a maximum of 40 kilometres per hour. In some places, including in the CBD, in village centres and on streets with high levels of pedestrian activity, the City recommends people drive at just 30 km/h, pushing the state government to implement formal restrictions.
It's a trend that's been taking place in several councils around Sydney, including recently in the Inner West and in Mosman on the city's Lower North Shore. While some people were critical of these changes, they come amid a concerning increase in road deaths in Australia in 2023, with the last 12 months branded the "deadliest" on our roads in a decade. With this in mind, Peter McLean, CEO at Bicycle NSW, said the logical next step is set uniform speed limits around the Sydney metro area.
Speaking to Yahoo News Australia, McLean said there are many reasons we should be looking at lowering limits — the obvious and most important being safety, including that of cyclists — but there are also a whole host of other arguments to be made.
"There's a direct relationship between reducing speed limits by 10 kilometres and reduced fatalities," he told Yahoo. "In those dense urban environments, certainly a 30km/h speed limit has proven to be very, very safe, effective and efficient, for a number of reasons."
Reduced limits lower likelihood of serious crashes, deaths
According to a NSW Centre for Road Safety study, when a person is hit by a car travelling at 30km/h, they have a 90 per cent chance of survival. But when you increase the limit to 40km/h, that rate drops to 60 per cent.
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At 50km/h, the current default speed limit for residential streets throughout most of NSW, only 10 per cent survive, the research found. Research on the topic has been conducted all over the world, with similar results being found, particularly in Europe, where hundreds of cities now have widespread 30 km/h speed limits.
London, Paris, Brussels, Edinburgh and Zurich are among the cities that have reduced limits down to 30km/h in the last few years, McLean noted, adding that plans are underway for Japan to follow suit by 2026.
'City vibrancy' stands to be improved, too
McLean said lowering speed limits would also decrease noise to residents living near roads, because "travelling at high speeds makes more noise pollution in general", and a lower limit would also create a more pleasant experience for those on foot, namely visitors to the state.
"We're trying to make our city more vibrant, more more friendly to tourists, more friendly to pedestrians more interactive for more types of people," he said. "So if that's our real goal, then absolutely [a uniform 30 km/h] is the gold standard.
"It's far less to do with bicycle riders and it's far more to do with pedestrians. It's far more to do with tourists. It's far more to do with our other passive city users. That's really where the argument is."
Speed limits should be evidence based, NRMA argues
However, several people feel implementing 30km/h zones throughout Sydney is a step too far.
NSW Premier Chris Minns told reporters in July Australia's most populous city shouldn't be treated as if it were a country town.
"You could walk quicker than that," he said. "It's got broader obligations than just those people that live and pay rates within its boundaries... it's a major international city."
An NRMA spokesperson told Yahoo News in July it does not support arbitrary cutting of speed limits across council areas.
"Speed limits should be evidence-based regardless of whether it is increased or decreased," the spokesperson said. "It should be based on the performance of individual roads and factors such as traffic volumes, crash history and engineering.
Business Sydney executive director Paul Nicolau expressed concern lower speed limits could affect businesses, SBS reported.
"Unreasonably low speed limits run the risk of stifling the commercial life of the city, which is already struggling to recover," he said.
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