You Are Here : Home / Works and Projects/Safer local roads

Safer local roads

To create safer roads in the municipality, Council in partnership with VicRoads, will be lowering the speed limit to 40km/hour on most Council owned roads. The roll out of the lower speed zone signage has taken place across the municipality in four stages between 2019 and 2022.

This decision was endorsed by Council in October 2017, and is based on results from Local Area Traffic Management studies conducted in our City, and feedback from residents feeling unsafe to walk or cycle in their local streets due to cars travelling at high speeds.

The 2016 Annual Community Survey Report also showed that 76.5% of residents who responded to the survey reported being “dissatisfied with the speed of traffic on local roads and considered that speed was too fast”. Anecdotal evidence also suggested that existing speeds in our municipality was discouraging residents from walking and cycling. Other research shows that:

Speed increases the likelihood of getting involved in a crash because the distance travelled during the driver’s reaction time increases as speed increases.
Speed increases the likelihood of getting involved in a crash because the distance needed to stop increases as speed increases.
The higher the speed, the greater the risk of a severe crash.
Higher speeds increase the likelihood of serious injury or death for pedestrians, motorcyclists and cyclist.

Research has shown that speed of a vehicle and the probability of fatal injury for a vulnerable road user (pedestrian or cyclist), have a direct relationship. A recent study found that by reducing speed from 50km/hour to just 40km/hour the chance of fatal injury by more than half (ie from 80% to 26%)*.

Lower speed limits reduce both the likelihood of a crash and the severity of any crashes that do occur. With lower speed limits, people have more time to react, evade and avoid, and for those crashes that still do happen the kinetic energy transfer to the human is lower.

This program is aligned with the Safe Systems framework adopted by both the Australian and Victorian Road Safety Strategy as well as Council’s 2021-2030 Road Safety Strategy and Action Plan.

We want all members of the community to feel safe when using our roads and by lowering the speed limit, it will reduce the risk of injury or fatality and encourage more people to walk or ride. For more information about the roll out of the project, download a copy of the map here(PDF, 8MB).

Maidstone, Maribyrnong and Braybrook (North)

What we are doing

Council will install new 40km/h speed limit signs on most of Council owned residential roads in Maidstone, Maribyrnong and Braybrook (North).

When we are doing it

Works will commence in early October 2021 and will take about eight weeks to complete, weather permitting.

How this will impact you

You may experience changed traffic conditions following the implementation of lower speed limits, including easing of congestion on roads.
After the installation of the new speed limit signs, there will be enforcement by Victoria Police to encourage drivers to obey the 40km/h speed limit.

Note:

Speed limits on local residential roads owned by Council within the highlighted area will be reduced from the existing 50km/h to 40 km/h.
Collector Council roads such as some sections of Mitchell Road, Rosamond Road Williamson Road and Emu Road will be reduced from the existing 60km/h to 50 km/h.
Industrial roads such as Lacy Street, Evans Road, parts of Cranwell Road and Chewton Street remained as 50 km/h.
Existing 40 school zones will remain unchanged during school hours.
Existing speed limits on arterial roads (shown in green e.g. Ballarat Road, Ashley Street, Hampstead Road, Gordon Street, Raleigh Road, Van Ness Avenue, Farnsworth Avenue) managed by VicRoads/Department of Transport will remained unchanged.

Reproduced with permission – Melway Publishing Pty Ltd 2020

Braybrook, Maidstone and West Footscray

What we are doing

Council is installing new 40km/h speed limit signs on Council owned residential roads in Braybrook, Maidstone and West Footscray. This will commence in April 2021 and take about six to eight weeks to complete, weather permitting.

How this will impact you

You may experience changed traffic conditions following the implementation of lower speed limits, including easing of congestion on roads. After the installation of the new speed limit signs, there will be enforcement by Victoria Police to encourage drivers to obey the 40km/h speed limit.

Note:

Speed limits on local residential roads owned by Council within the highlighted area will be reduced from the existing 50km/h to 40 km/h. Collector roads such as Churchill Avenue and South Road will be reduced from the existing 60km/h to 50 km/h. 40 km/h school zones will remain unchanged during school hours. Speed limits on arterial roads (shown in green e.g. Ballarat Road, Ashley Street, Sunshine Road, Geelong Road) managed by VicRoads/Department of Transport will remained unchanged. Victoria Police to encourage drivers to obey the 40km/h speed limit.

Reproduced with permission – Melway Publishing Pty Ltd 2020

Kingsville, Yarraville and Footscray

What we are doing

Council has installed new 40km/hour speed limit signs on Council owned roads in Kingsville, Yarraville and Footscray.

When we are doing it

Works were completed between April and June 2020

Note:

Speed limits on local roads owned by Council within the highlighted area will be reduced from the existing 50km/h to 40 km/h. Speed limits on arterial roads (shown in green e.g. Ballarat Road, Williamstown Road, Francis Street and Geelong Road) managed by VicRoads/ Department of Transport will remained unchanged.

Reproduced with permission - Melway Publishing Pty Ltd 2019.

Seddon and Yarraville

What we are doing

Council installed new 40km/hour speed limit signs on Council owned roads in Seddon and Yarraville.

When we are doing it

Works were completed between April and May 2019.

Note:

Hyde Street was lowered from 60km/hour to 50km/hour. Buckley Street/Napier Street, Whitehall Street, Williamstown Road are arterial roads (non-Council Roads) therefore existing speed limits remain unchanged.

Reproduced with permission - Melway Publishing Pty Ltd 2019.

* Source: Probability of fatal injury in relation to vehicle speed ('Improving Pedestrian Safety,' Curtin-Monash Accident Research Centre).

Contact details

Customer service

9688 0200

40area2@maribyrnong.vic.gov.au