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The council responsible for inner-city Melbourne suburbs Collingwood and Fitzroy will drop the speed limit on more of its roads to 30km/h – and even the famously speed-averse Victoria Police thinks it’s a bad idea.
Yarra Council earlier this week voted unanimously to expand the 30km/h speed limit introduced to some streets in 2018. The expanded 30km/h zone remains part of a trial, as the Victorian Government “does not allow for 30km/h speed limits outside of the scope of a trial”.
The lower limits were driven by research showing pedestrians, cyclists, and motorbike riders were involved in 90 per cent of collisions on its urban streets.
Speaking to ABC Radio Melbourne, Victoria Police Chief Commissioner Shane Patton said 30km/h speed limits “are not the answer” to Victoria’s skyrocketing road toll, describing the limits as “ridiculous”.
“These incidents are occurring in the country, a lot up there – 30 kilometres is not the answer,” Mr Patton said.
Victoria’s road toll is currently sitting at 258, up more than 20 per cent on the whole-year figure for 2022 with more than a month left.
For its part, the Yarra Council says “road safety research has shown that the risk of death or serious injury for vulnerable road users increases significantly when involved in a collision with vehicles travelling over 30km/h”.
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