SYDNEY’S LORD MAYOR Clover Moore says a blanket 40km/h speed limit for the city’s CBD and inner suburbs would greatly reduce the risk of pedestrian fatalities, however the NSW Roads and Traffic Authority has yet to act upon the local council’s recommendation.
At yesterday’s Staysafe Committee Inquiry into Pedestrian Safety, Ms Clover said councils should be given the power to set local speed limits.
“We’ve been lobbying the RTA for years to introduce a flat 40 kilometre zone in the CBD, and on local roads throughout the City’s Local Government Area, but they continue to sit on their hands and pedestrians are put at risk by cars travelling at dangerous speeds,” she said.
“We’re now calling on the RTA to give local councils the power to set appropriate speed limits on local roads.”
Roughly 850,000 people travel into Sydney’s CBD each weekday, a great proportion of those arriving by means other than a car.
“Just 15 per cent of people travel to work in the Sydney CBD by car, and the rest, 85 per cent, travel on foot, by bike or public transport,” she said in a statement.
“It’s time we made this majority a priority.”
According to government figures, pedestrians accounted for 28.3 percent of road casualties in the City of Sydney in 2007, a stark contrast to the 8.3 percent pedestrian figure for the rest of New South Wales.
Aside from requesting local councils be given the ability to set their own speed limits, the City of Sydney made a number of recommendations at the inquiry aimed at improving pedestrian safety. These included:
- Pedestrian green crossing times be increased at all signaled crossings, particularly in central Sydney and main arterial roads.
- The RTA trial pedestrian crossing countdown timers;
- The standard speed limit for High Pedestrian Activity Areas, such as central Sydney, be set at 40km/h;
- Education programs be introduced for all road users on appropriate driver interaction with pedestrians and cyclists.
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OK, will accept that AS LONG as they can guarantee that we will be able to do 40kmh at ALL times inc. during PEAK hour and no bumper-to-bumper turtle-speed rubbish,,,,,,,,
What about it overpaid Mayor?
Cheers,
F-0
I suppose we can’t just make a law to say you’re only allowed to be a pedestrian if you’ve got common sense and look before you step onto the road, can we?
Spare us from the naieve, cereberally limp & sanctamonious! When I went to school, the pedestrians place was on the footpaths, and cars on the road - with respective right of way. A typically hysterical naieve “solution” to o nonexistant “problem”.
Driving through the Sydney CBD you’d be lucky to reach 30Km/h let alone 40Km/h… The place is an absolute sh!thole in terms of traffic flow and traffic management.
I mean they built the Cross City Tunnel to try an d ease congestion on the roads - but all they did was make it so even more cars can traverse the city undeground and travel just as slow as those above ground… I’m glad I got outta there when I did
I dont see how any car can even reach 15km/h in peak traffic in CBD. It takes 15mins to go from one lights to the next.
Any person could already walk faster then peak hour traffic.
Can we have speed limit enforce on pedestrian?
They are walking too fast and i’m afraid they are gonna bump into and damage any queueing stationary cars.
What comes after 40KPH ?
30KPH and then what ?
We may as well stay home and contribute nothing - but save fuel and vehicle mishaps.
Perhaps that would please the mayor.
I’ve seen so often in Sydney CBD when a pedestrian instinctively cross a street without checking if it is safe to do so just because they saw another pedestrian crossing the street.
Welcome to Lemmings.
Typical Clover Moore anti-car bullcrap. I hope she gets cleaned up by a bicycle courier.
Ban ALL vehicles from Sydney.
Then I can fly my kite.
ROFL
No problem with signposted 40km/h in CBD’s, provided they stay that way, hardly a dramatic issue to cry over.
The default built-up area speed restriction should stay the same, 50km/h.
The rural default should be 80km/h, not the lunatic 100km/h.
The maximum posted speed restriction should be 130km/h for certain rural freeway stretches, *once* the road has continuous median barrier and U-Turn bay “gatelock” installed, - to prevent idiots committing U-Turns.
Then we can mandate safety vests and for a single warning triangle for cars, vans, utes & 4WD’s. Or, we could be really ‘dumb’ and do nothing.
http://www.nbntv.com.au/index.php/2009/07/14/calls-for-improved-roadside-safety/