Improved safety on local roads was given the green light by Council last night, with the endorsement of a City-wide speed limit reduction.
The plan would see speed reduced from 50km/hr to 40km/hr on local residential streets and some local distributor roads and is part of a joint proposal across several inner-city local governments.
Local streets are residential streets where our community live, work, play and connect and local distributor roads also provide residential access but act as connectors between neighbourhoods.
Trials elsewhere have demonstrated that lower speeds reduce accident rates, encouraged walking and cycling, and improved community satisfaction with minimal impact on travel times.
Similarly, the City of Subiaco has previously reduced speed limits in some areas with positive safety outcomes; most notably, a reduction of 10km/hr to the limit on Rokeby Road resulted in an almost 50 per cent reduction in reported accidents in some locations.
The move to reduce speed limits on residential roads is a priority for the Perth Inner City Group (PICG) which includes the cities of Subiaco, Perth, South Perth, Vincent and the Town of Victoria Park. Parts of the Town of Cambridge will also be included.
By changing limits across the whole Perth inner-city area, drivers will have more consistency, with the benefits seen across a wider area.
City of Subiaco Mayor David McMullen said a small reduction in speed limits will save lives and prevent serious injury.
"We have evidence that just a 20 per cent reduction in speed results in a 200 per cent increase in the likelihood of surviving a collision – that means our drivers are going to be safer, and so too will other road users such as pedestrians and people riding a bike or an e-scooter," he said.
"There were 1052 casualty crashes – where someone needed medical attention, hospitalisation or died – within the inner-city area between 2019 and 2023; it’s time for action to get these numbers down. There is full funding on offer from the Road Safety Commission meaning there is no better time for us to do this.
The City will look to commence an information sharing and engagement process with the community in the coming months which will include drop-in information sessions, fact sheets and feedback opportunities.
Main Roads WA are the leading agency for setting speed limits and determine the number and placement of speed signs on all streets and roads.
Once all Councils in the PICG have considered this matter at their individual meetings, the group will apply to Main Roads WA for the approval and implementation of the speed limit change, formalising a long period of liaising between inner city local government staff, Main Roads WA and the Road Safety Commission.
