Engineers Australia’s Transport Australia Society welcomes the recent policy announcement by Brisbane City Council to establish reduced speed zones along streets with high pedestrian and cyclist activity.

Brisbane City Council is encouraged to consider wider implementation of variable speed zones, similar to those operating in Fortitude Valley, that could allow higher speeds outside of periods of high pedestrian and cyclist activity. The Council should also now consider opportunities to modify the street design to reinforce the lower speed limit.

The safety benefits associated with the Council’s proposed policy are well established and grounded in internationally recognised research.

The National Road Safety Strategy, which has been committed to by all federal, state and territory governments, is founded on the Safe Systems approach to improving road safety.

The Safe System approach aims to reduce fatal and serious injuries by ensuring that the forces involved in collisions are survivable.

For vulnerable road users such as pedestrians and cyclists, the likelihood of being fatally or seriously injured has been found to decrease significantly if the impact occurs at 30km/h or less.

Brisbane City Council’s proposed policy of reducing speeds in areas of high pedestrian and cyclist activity from 60km/h to 40km/h is a positive step towards achieving the national vision of zero road deaths and serious injuries.

The effect on journey times for motorists of this proposed policy is negligible. If the speed reduction was to be implemented over a 1km length, motorists would only be delayed by 30 seconds.