General News
26 July, 2022
Further expansion of the 40km/h CBD zone unlikely
EXPANSION of the Cairns 40km/h zone to other streets in the CBD is unlikely, but the existing speed restriction is here to stay.
Introduced in 2019 and expanded last year, the 40 km/h limit has resulted in positive outcomes, mainly in reducing the level of casualties from traffic crashes, and less vehicle accidents overall.
The 40km/h zone in the Cairns CBD was expanded in 2021 to include the section south of Spence St to Wharf St, including Sheridan, Grafton, Lake, Abbott and Hartley streets.
Cairns Regional Council and the Department of Transport and Main Roads (TMR) which partnered in the lower speed limit initiative are both happy with the introduction of the slower speeds, which when introduced were criticised by some motorists for being ‘too slow’.
But since Council introduced the initial 40 km/h zone in the Cairns CBD in early 2019 casualties due to vehicle crashes have reduced.
Anecdotally, while there are still reports of some drivers not slowing enough down during turns into crosswalks that are still flashing green for pedestrians, there is a general feeling that the slower speed has done the traffic-pedestrian-cyclist harmony in the middle of the city, good.
“While there are no plans for the expansion of the 40km/h zone at this time, the wellbeing of the community safety remains Council’s priority with monitoring of speed limits and safety improvements regularly assessed and revised,” Cairns Council’s Acting CEO Mark Wuth said.
Data presented to Council showed casualties due to vehicle crashes fell overall by 21.6% since the introduction of the 40km/h traffic speed limit, and cyclist and pedestrian casualties reduced by 36 per cent.
This represents a $2.5 million saving in costs to the community, according to a Queensland Department of Transport and Main Roads (TMR) economic assessment of incident related cost reductions to the community.
Existing 40 km/h speed limits in the CBD and the lowspeed zones in Lake St and the Cairns Esplanade will remain unchanged.
The project also was made possible with funding provided through TMR’s Vulnerable Road Users Program (VRUP).
