Safer Speeds trial affecting 1800 roads across Capes region set for public consultation

The outcomes of a partnership between Capes local governments and the RAC has been unveiled and it potentially affects speed limits on nearly 2000 local roads.

The City of Busselton and Shire of Augusta-Margaret River went public this week with their plans in conjunction with Main Roads WA and the RAC’s Safer Speeds project.

It includes testing lower speed limits on about 1800 local roads.

The trial mostly identified 10km/h speed reductions along routes connecting population centres, but outlying sealed roads signposted for 110km/h could be reduced to 80km/h.

The Safer Speeds trial would also answer longstanding questions from Augusta residents about talk of a 40km/h main street, which has been confirmed in the plans.

“The Safer Speed trial aims to test a new approach to setting speed limits, focusing on harm minimisation and analysing roads in a holistic, area-wide way,” a spokesperson said.

“It is anticipated to commence in early 2025 and run for three years.

“To show how the Safer Speeds trial might impact journey times, a transport consultant drove 16 of the routes across the trial area earlier this year. This real-world assessment found the average increase in driving time was 62 seconds.

“In almost all cases the increase in journey time was less than two minutes.”

The project would have an independent evaluation during the trial and be open to feedback from residents which would “inform any decisions on whether to reinstate current speed limits or make any of the trialled changes permanent,” the group said.

The agencies involved, including the local governments, are now seeking public feedback on the proposed trial before making a final decision in December.

Speeding is seen as the biggest contributor to the State’s road death toll and road safety heads want to trial further limits.

Numbers provided by stakeholders this week showed between 2019 and 2023 136 people were killed or seriously injured on roads in Busselton and 59 in the Shire of Augusta-Margaret River.

“According to the WA Road Safety Commission, speed continues to be a leading factor in WA road trauma and there is strong evidence from Australia and around the world that speed limit reductions typically lead to a substantial decrease in road deaths and serious injuries,” the stakeholders said.

The co-ordinated release of details this week follows the shire and city last year voting to enter into the partnership, which included $1 million in RAC funding.

More details about the project, including an interactive map, are available at saferspeedstrial.com.au.

Public comment could also be made via consultation pages on both local governments’ websites.