Proposed 40km/h speed limit in residential streets of Marden, Royston Park, Joslin, St Peters, College Park and Hackney

Concerns about high speeds on our roads is a regular issue raised with the Council from the community who want safer streets and nicer neighbourhoods.

A request for slower speeds has been raised by numerous residents throughout this entire precinct.

In 2022, community consultation was undertaken as part of a traffic study in Marden and Royston Park (between Lower Portrush Road and Lambert Road).  The majority of survey respondents (60%), supported a speed limit of 40km/h in this area. The Council is considering expanding the proposed speed limit reduction to the surrounding suburbs so that the 40km/h area is bound by arterial roads.

A precinct-based 40 km/h speed limit is a strategy being considered to reduce speed on local roads, increase safety for all road users and improve neighbourhood liveability. 

There have been 49 collisions in the last 5-years, on residential streets in this precinct (not including Stephen Terrace).

While collisions may occur at any time and at any location, the lower speed limit has proven to reduce the likelihood of crashes and their severity by providing drivers more reaction time to avoid a collision and increasing the safety of all street users.

Lowering the speed limits can benefit the community by calming traffic and encouraging drivers travelling longer distances to use main roads instead of local streets.

A 40km/h speed limit also has the potential to:

• improve road safety for all street users, especially people walking, riding, and using public transport
• prevent or reduce the likelihood and severity of crashes, fatalities and injury
• reduce noise on local streets 
• slow vehicle traffic, providing more time and safer options for people to cross the street
• maintain the existing street environment (reduced requirement for traffic calming devices that remove on-street car parks and restrict accessibility)
• provide more opportunities for children to ride to school, as well as create a safer environment to play outdoors.

Research has revealed that a street with a lower speed limit will experience fewer crashes as it provides motorists with more time to react and prevent an accident.

At lower speeds, the severity of the accidents also decreases. A 40 km/h area provides pedestrians with more time to cross the streets, increasing their safety.

Yes. Should this proposal be supported by the community, endorsed by the Council and the Department of Infrastructure and Transport, the change in speed zone will be permanent.

Delays experienced by drivers due to a speed limit change would be minimal, and would depend on the distance covered, but in local streets, travel time is more likely to be increased by stopping or slowing at intersections, short street lengths, and on-street parking.

No. Emergency services (ambulance, fire, and police) can exceed the speed limit in the case of an emergency.  As part of this consultation, the Council wiil engage with South Australia’s Emergency Services and inform them of the outcome.

A strategic approach to speed management is required to develop network-wide or citywide safe streets solutions. There are a number of infrastructure and non-infrastructure methods to manage speed reduction. 

The introduction of a 40 km/h area is a more equitable and cost-effective solution that can be implemented across a large area at one time, and can avoid the need for restrictive traffic management devices. The streets will be monitored after the ‘settling-in’ period and traffic management devices will be considered if required.

No – there are no plans to remove existing traffic calming devices, or halt the current plans for traffic calming devices in Marden and Royston Park.

The enforcement of a lower speed limit is performed by the South Australia Police (SAPOL), who work independently of the Council. Changes in speed limits will only be enforced after a reasonable transition period.

The Council does not enforce speed limits nor does it earn any revenue from any SAPOL enforcement activities. 

All feedback received from the community will be collected, analysed and reported to the Council, which will consider this feedback when making its decision.

The Council meeting date will be added to this project page when it is confirmed.