Speed limit reductions to improve road safety

By Craig Wilson

Amphitheatre Road will see the speed limit reduced to 60km/h.

Council has received $2 million under the program to deliver a range

of road safety improvements across the municipality, with the first

initiative being targeted speed limit reductions on selected roads.

These new speed limits have been determined by assessing several

factors, including the Victorian Government’s Speed Zoning

Technical Guidelines , which recommend:

• reducing speed limits to 60–80 km/h on peri-urban roads and

hamlets

• reducing speed limits to 50–60 km/h on local streets with higher

levels of traffic movement

Council also considered resident feedback received through the

Customer Action Request System (CARS), where concerns about

speeding are frequently raised.

Another key consideration was the Victoria Government’s Safe

System philosophy, particularly the Safer Speeds pillar, which

focuses on reducing the likelihood and severity of crashes.

Projected township growth, nearby schools and high-volume

connecting roads were also assessed when determining the new

limits.

Local councils manage 87 per cent of Victoria’s road network, and

currently 40 per cent of serious injury claims through the Transport

Accident Commission relate to crashes on these local roads.

Pyrenees Shire Council Mayor Damian Ferrari said the changes are

an important step toward the Victorian Government’s goal of

eliminating deaths and serious injuries on the state’s roads by 2050.

“As humans, we can’t always avoid making mistakes. What we can

do is build more forgiving road infrastructure so that when a

mistake does happen on the road, it doesn’t cost a life,” Cr Ferrari

said.

“Council has responsibility for these roads, and we are committed to

making our roads safer.”

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