GO FOR SLOW: Borough still plans for 30kmh roads

THE Borough of Queenscliffe is standing behind its plan to cut speeds to 30kmh on some of its roads, with the proposal still in the final draft of the Queenscliffe Active Transport Strategy (QATS).

Originally part of the first draft of QATS endorsed by councillors in February, the lower speed limit was one of four key strategies designed to promote active transport – defined as walking, riding and other non-motorised forms of mobility – across the municipality between now until 2031.

The idea was met with some community criticism, with an online petition in April garnering more than 1,700 signatures in the space of a week and attracting statewide media attention.

The 30kmh proposal remains in the final draft of QATS released last week but is less prominent, listed as the fifth point of the third design principle (safety and security) for pathways: “Where paths cannot be provided within verges, the traffic road environment should aim for speeds of 30kmh [or] lower and very low volumes of traffic.”

There is a well-established connection between road speeds and accidents on the transport network, the final QATS draft states, with pedestrians being at the greatest risk of all road users.

“Comprehensive studies by the Curtain-Monash Accident Research Centre have shown the relationship between increasing speeds, and the risk of pedestrian fatality. This risk increases exponentially with speeds over 30kmh.”

The strategy states that at a 30kmh speed limit, the chance of a pedestrian fatality is less than 10 per cent, rising to 30 per cent at 40kmh and 80 per cent at 50kmh.

“Reduced speed limits can be used in conjunction with road calming methods to slow vehicles and reduce the risk of pedestrian fatalities on our roads.”

Elsewhere in the strategy, the document sets out its vision as “a connected Borough, where walking, riding and wheeling are safe and enjoyable ways of moving to, from and around the borough regardless of age or ability.”

It identifies three key strategies that will have the greatest impact on achieving this vision:

• Creating a complete, connected and well-designed pathway network that provide smooth and continuous and safe access along key streets and places within the borough, with an initial 10-year program of pathways at a cost of about $1.76 million
• Finishing the missing links in the Bellarine Rail Trail, including Murray Road, between the Bellarine Highway and City of Greater Geelong border, where vehicles mix with both higher volumes of pedestrian and cyclists; and at the other end, where the trail has has no natural conclusion or way to get access to the ferry and Hesse Street; and
• Implementing bicycle parking at key locations across the bicycle network and at key locations, including an “ambitious” target to implement 200 bicycle parks (e.g. hoops, racks, or other types of bicycle parking) by the year 2032, with 100 in both Point Lonsdale and Queenscliff.