Implementation of 30km/h Speed Limits on Gold Coast Streets

Abstract

The Gold Coast City Transport Strategy 2031 was endorsed by Council in early 2013. Seven “strategy implementation plans” were then prepared to translate the objectives of the strategy into tangible programs of action. One of the first plans prepared was the Gold Coast Road Safety Plan 2015-2020 (GCRSP15). The GCRSP15 contained 58 key actions, including the implementation of lower speed limits on Council Roads. In 2015 the City of Gold Coast implemented its first 30km/h speed limit in Hedges Avenue, Mermaid Beach. This was a tactical response to the rate of crashes involving pedestrians and cyclists on this street and supported the actions in the GCRSP15. Following the implementation of this initial 30km/h speed limit, the City has implemented over 15 speed reductions resulting in a 30km/h speed limit within its beachfront suburbs. The GCRSP15 was refreshed in 2020-21 with the advent of the Gold Coast Road Safety Plan 2021-2026. This new plan includes 50 actions that align with the established local Safe Systems approach and Movement and Place framework, including the further implementation of 30km/h and 40km/h speed limits in local Gold Coast streets. The Safe System approach is supported both nationally and internationally and focuses on harm minimisation when setting speed limits and is key to achieving Vision Zero and eliminating death and serious injury crashes from the road network. The new national and Queensland road safety strategies also support the Safe System approach to speed management, including the implementation of 30km/h speed limits in densely populated urban areas where there is a high mix of cars and vulnerable road users (pedestrians, cyclists and motorcyclists). Changes to the Queensland Manual of Uniform Traffic Control Devices Part 4: Speed controls in 2018 saw the introduction of High Active Transport User zones (HATUAs) as a Criteria Based Speed Limit. This further facilitated the implementation of lower speed limits in locations of high pedestrian activity across the State. As a result, an additional 24 streets on the Gold Coast were identified for review and funding for the review of 14 of these streets was obtained through the Department of Transport and Main Roads Vulnerable Road User Program. This presentation documents the City’s implementation of 30km/h speed limits since 2015. A local context is provided, including the approach to community consultation and the movement towards the implementation of area wide 30km/h zones for consistency, legibility and enforceability. A case study in the suburb of Broadbeach which demonstrates the process of a HATUA speed limit review will be discussed, along with the results of several other reviews.