Inner West Council has voted unanimously to implement 40km/hr speed limits on local Inner West streets within the Inner West Local Government Area.
Inner West Council and Transport for NSW (TfNSW) worked closely together on this plan to make the Inner West a safer place to walk, cycle and move around.
The Council will seek approval and funding from TfNSW to expedite the delivery of the plan.
The adopted report InnerWest@40, saw 82% of responders support uniformly reduced speeds on all local roads within the Inner West.
“Council will also seek to prioritise the roll out of 40km/hr speed limits near aged care homes and childcare centres, along with our schools and hospitals.
“We’ve seen the success of the existing 40km/hr speed zone on the Balmain Peninsula and it’s time to bring all our streets into uniform alignment.
“In a crash between a car and a pedestrian, there is a 90 per cent chance that a pedestrian will survive at 30km/h, 60 per cent chance at 40km/h and a 10 per cent chance at 50 km/h,” said Councillor Tim Stephens.
“The average vehicle speed in the Inner West is already below 40km/hr. It makes sense to adopt uniform and safer speed limits and increase community safety.
“We can achieve this with minimal inconvenience to the travelling public. Our study showed that a weekday trip from Birchgrove to Marrickville will only take 16 seconds longer. A weekend journey on the same route was an additional 36 seconds.
“It’s a small price to pay for a safer community,” Councillor Tim Stephens said