Adelaideans have criticized a proposal to reduce the speed limit in the CBD to 30km/h and called the plan “ridiculous”.
On Tuesday, Adelaide City Council councilors met to discuss three proposed changes to speed limits on city streets, which aim to create a “safer urban environment” and “help support businesses”.
The first proposed change is a general speed of 30 km/h for city streets, 40 km/h for most other streets and a maximum speed of 50 km/h on the remaining arterial roads.
Currently, there are different speed limits throughout the city; Roads on the council border have a speed limit of 60km/h, while most roads through Adelaide Parklands have a speed limit of 50km/h.
There are currently only three roads in Adelaide with a 30km/h speed limit.
Since 2019, there have been 2,400 traffic accidents in the area, four of which were fatal. Of those incidents, 211 people suffered serious injuries and 658 reported minor injuries.
“What we don’t want to do is make it difficult for people who need to get into the city, but at the same time we have to balance safety,” Adelaide Mayor Jane Lomax-Smith told the Adelaide Advertiser.
While the mayor added that it was “just the beginning of the conversation,” she noted that “over the decades, speed limits have generally been lowered.”
Adelaide Mayor Jane Lomax-Smith said they don’t want to make it difficult for people to get into the city, but they need to “balance safety” (file photo of rush hour in Adelaide)
Despite pressure to reduce speed limits, some residents have criticized the proposed changes, calling them “insanity.”
Ben Kelly, owner of the Havlock Hotel, told the Adelaide Advertiser the changes were “ridiculous” and would not help promote greater foot traffic in the city.
“We’re trying to bring more people to the city,” he said. ‘This city is trying to grow. Reducing speed limits will create greater congestion within the city.”
NewsWire has contacted the council for comment.