Creating safer local roads across the municipality

Published on 01 October 2021

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Cyclists, pedestrians and drivers in Braybrook, Maidstone and Maribyrnong will benefit from a safer road environment following the introduction of reduced speed limits on many Council roads during October.

The move is part of the Safer Local Roads program, implemented with support from the Department of Transport, and will see:

  • speed limits on residential roads reduced from the existing 50km/h to 40 km/h
  • collector roads such as some sections of Mitchell Road, Rosamond Road and Williamson Road reduced from the existing 60km/h to 50 km/h; and
  • a continuation of 40km/hr school zones during school hours.

Industrial roads such as Lacy Street, Evans Road and parts of Cranwell Road will remain at 50 km/h, and existing speed limits on arterial roads managed by the Department of Transport will also remain unchanged.

This is the fifth and final stage of the program undertaken across Maribyrnong bringing the quantum of Council-owned roads with lowered speed limits within the municipality to 93%.

The five-year program was fuelled by the results from Local Area Traffic Management (LATM) studies and feedback from residents around safety concerns when walking or cycling in their local streets, and was initially endorsed by Council in October 2017.

Traffic studies in Yarraville and Seddon in 2019 confirm the success of the speed reduction in keeping road users (pedestrians, cyclists and drivers) safe, with a 60% decrease in reported casualty crashes in these areas since the lower speed limits were introduced.*

Council will be installing the new speed limit signs over six to eight weeks starting early October. Once installed, the new 40km/h speed limits become enforceable by Victoria Police.

The Safer Local Roads program is supported by Maribyrnong’s Road Safety Strategy 2021-2030, an overarching document that guides Council’s efforts in creating, enhancing and maintaining road safety for all road users – pedestrians, cyclists and drivers – in the municipality.

For more information about the program, visit the website www.maribyrnong.vic.gov.au/SaferLocalRoads

For more information about the Road Safety Strategy 2021-2030, visit the website www.maribyrnong.vic.gov.au/RoadSafetyStrategy

* Data is based off casualty crashes reported to the Department of Transport between 2013 and 2020: discover.data.vic.gov.au/dataset/crash-stats-data-extract

Message from the Mayor, Cr Michael Clarke

Ensuring all road users – pedestrians, cyclists and drivers – are safe when out and about on and near our roads is incredibly important.

The Safer Local Roads campaign been a proven success in managing speeds on local roads to ensure road-user safety, and the roll out of the program in Braybrook, Maidstone and Maribyrnong is the final piece of this important program.

Maribyrnong News

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