In July 2024, the City of Sydney announced that speed limits on all city streets would be reduced to a maximum of 40 km/h. This is part of a long-term plan to save lives on city streets, reduce emissions and increase liveability. Lower speed limits are a key action in the City of Sydney’s new 'Access Strategy and Action Plan', that was adopted in November 2023.
And in some locations – in the CBD, in village centres, on streets with lots of pedestrian activity - the City has recommended that 30 km/h should be set as the maximum speed.
In supporting lower speed limits, Lord Mayor Clover Moore says: “When people drive at safer speeds it reduces the number of crashes and their severity, improves safety for people walking and riding and helps to support better place-making.” (Image: Chris Southwood / 30Please / Bicycle NSW)
The Bicycle NSW campaign page Safe Speed Limits has articles that explain why lower speeds make sense, and there are links to many more resources.
In a nutshell – slower vehicles are less dangerous
NSW Centre for Road Safety found that when a person is hit by a vehicle at 30km/h, they have 90% chance of survival. At 40km/h 60% of pedestrian might survive. But at 50km/h, the current default speed limit for residential streets throughout most of NSW, only 10% survive. Research from around the world shows that a 1% reduction in speed leads to a 4% reduction in fatalities.
The number of deaths on NSW roads with different speed limits. A chart from an excellent article by Matthew Mclaughlin in the Conversation. Data from NSW Transport Metropolitan Roads 2019.
And low speed limits have a myriad of other benefits. The streets feel more pleasant. There is less noise and pollution. More people choose to walk and cycle. They get healthier and spend less on transport. Businesses see more footfall. And if fewer trips happen by car, there is less need for parking spaces, leaving more space for trees, benches, and cycleways. It’s a big win for urban liveability.
Sydney can’t be slower! “It’s a major international city”
City of Sydney’s plans sparked a backlash from NSW Premier Chris Minns and Business Sydney executive director Paul Nicolaou.
Minns declared that 30 km/h is ‘over the top’, adding: “You could walk quicker than that."
He told reporters that he disagrees with City of Sydney reducing street speeds, saying that Sydney’s CBD shouldn't be treated as a small country town. “It's got broader obligations than just those people that live and pay rates within its boundaries ... it's a major international city.”
Chris Minns providing that he can walk faster than…. cars stuck in a traffic jams. And one thing that 30km/h is proven to reduce is traffic jams! For some mathematical models and clear conclusions from academics in Milan, check out this research paper. (Image: SBS / Nikki Short)
Minns’ concerns were echoed by Nicolaou, who said: "Unreasonably low speed limits run the risk of stifling the commercial life of the city, which is struggling to recover. 30km/h would be another nail in the coffin for business.”
Nicolaou called on the Roads Minister John Graham to intervene and make "common sense laws" for the city.
But the very finest international cities have slowed right down!
On an international scale, Sydney is actually behind the curve on reducing speed limits.
30 km/h or 20 mph speed limits are currently in place across many leading global cities, including Paris, New York, Amsterdam, and London (Images: Mairie Paris Centre / AutoWeek / DNAInfo / Independent)
Hundreds of cities in Europe have widespread 30 km/h speed limits. The early adopter was Graz in Austria in 1992, which now has 80% of its road network capped at 30 km/h. London, Paris, Brussels, Edinburgh and Zurich are among the cities that have followed over the last few years. Plans are underway in Japan to reduce speed limits to 30km/h on all residential streets by 2026.
Some of the cities and countries in Europe that have chosen to lower speed limits to make the streets safer, more liveable, less noisy and better for people (Image: Bicycle NSW)
Even in Australia, City of Sydney’s move is part of a wider trend
Earlier this year, Sydney’s Inner West Council voted unanimously to introduce 40km/h on all local streets. In recent years, 30km/h limits have been introduced in Manly and the Illawarra area, including Helensburgh town centre and the Crown Street dining district in the centre of Wollongong.
In 2024, the Melbourne suburbs of Collingwood and Fitzroy expanded their limited 30 km/h areas to cover all streets except major roads following a 5-year trial. And City of Yarra is campaigning to have major state-managed roads in the area reduced to 40km/h from 60km/h.
The research keeps coming to support the change
In May 2024, George Yannis and Eva Michelaraki published a definitive Review of City-Wide 30 km/h Speed Limit Benefits in Europe. They found that speed reductions led to an astonishing 37% fall in road crash fatalities, as well as an 18% cut in emissions and 7% fall in fuel consumption.
Monash University research fellow Lauren Pearson says that lower speed limits on local streets was not only "one of the most cost-effective road safety interventions" but also enhances liveability. "It increases the chance of people shifting from more sedentary modes of transport, like driving their car, to active modes, like walking, bike, riding, and scooting,” says Pearson.
‘Motornormativity’ is hard to turn around
While the concerns expressed by Minns and Nicolaou, in the face of irrefutable evidence, are frustrating, they are not surprising. Our car-centric approach to planning perpetuates a reliance on private motor vehicles for transport despite the dangers and inefficiencies.
It is easy to be blind to the many costs of cars. Dr Ian Walker, a professor of environmental psychology at Swansea University in Wales, has researched ‘motornormativity’. That is, a cultural inability to think objectively about how we use cars. Dr Walker has shown how we tend to overestimate the importance and underestimate the danger of private cars.
“Decisions about motor transport, by individuals and policy-makers, show unconscious biases due to cultural assumptions about the role of private cars,” he writes.
A fantastic short video featuring Dr Walker clearly shows how urban environments prioritise driving - to the detriment of cycling, walking and our health. For a deeper dive into his work on ‘car brain’, check out this interview on The War on Cars.
Safety isn’t a matter for political grandstanding
The government doesn’t ask the public for opinions on the safe operating speeds of train, metro, light rail, freight or ferry systems. And it shouldn’t ask about speed limits. It must use facts and evidence to make decisions that keep everyone as safe as possible.
From old South Wales to New South Wales
The conversation around safe speeds received a major boost in Australia in August 2024 with a visit from Lee Waters MS, a Member of the Welsh Parliament and former Transport Minister.
Lee Waters made global headlines by pausing all new roads schemes while an independent review was carried out to test alignment with climate targets. In September 2023, the Welsh Government implemented a default 20mph (30km/h) urban speed limit in Wales.
Lee Waters MS with residents in his constituency of Llanelli, South Wales. "Statistics from the first 6 months show that speeds are down, despite minimal enforcement. As a result, we can expect to see fewer accidents, fewer casualties, fewer deaths, fewer tragedies, a little bit slower but a whole lot better,” says Waters
(Image: Swansea Bay News)
For three weeks, Lee toured Australia, talking to federal and state politicians, professionals and advocates about the challenges and benefits of driving transformative change.
A recording from an inspiring public event at Sydney Town Hall is here and a rundown of a Parliamentary Friends of Cycling event at Parliament House in Canberra is here.
Come on Transport for NSW!
Despite advocacy from Bicycle NSW and many local councils, Transport for NSW still resists the introduction of 30km/h streets. It has even rejected making the change for two City of Sydney Quietway projects, when Transport's very own Cycleway Design Toolbox says that 30 km/h is a crucial element of a Quietway.
The NSW speed limit guidelines have recently received a much-needed update and now include official recommendations for 30km/h speed zones. Previously, there wasn’t even a mention of 30km/h in the guidelines. It is now easier to implement changes to speed limits in local streets.
We urge Transport for NSW to empower councils to manage speeds on their road network. The NSW Government must lead the conversation, build public support for low speeds and put an end to the piecemeal approach than has hindered change for far too long.
Of course, 30 km/h speed limits and traffic calming on local roads are key campaigns for our colleagues at Better Streets and Walk Sydney.
What can our friends and Members do?
- Talk to your friends and family about why it is important that we reduce speeds on local streets to 30km/h.
- Share this article and other resources from the Bicycle NSW campaign page resources with elected politicians. Politicians in Australia will need to hear from you that you are willing to slow down to 30km/h in local streets.
- Join Bicycle NSW today! Not only will you support our advocacy for safer streets. You will ride with peace of mind knowing that you are covered by our comprehensive insurance and enjoy many other Member-only benefits.
- Buy Bicycle NSW a Coffee (or three!) to help our team to work each and every day, on the ground in NSW, to make NSW better for bike riding.
