Page 11 - Week 01 - Tuesday, 8 February 2022
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and penalties incurred in the month of July 2021 in the new 40km zones in Civic to be waived, and for the Government to take action to make clear where the speed limits apply.
As reflected in the Government’s submission to the Public Transport and City Services Committee Inquiry into 40km/h zones in Civic, the Government will not be automatically waiving the fines and penalties incurred in the revised speed zones during the month of July 2021. ACT Government ministers are not empowered to waive individual fines under legislation; this is an important integrity measure for ensuring public confidence in the ACT’s enforcement framework.
The policy rationale for the introduction of 40km/h speed zones in the city is based on protecting the safety of Canberrans, particularly vulnerable road users. The ACT Government undertook extensive communication activity leading up to the implementation of the new speed zones, throughout the subsequent three month grace period during which no enforcement was undertaken, and throughout an additional two-week warning period. Communication remains ongoing, including through large and prominent physical signage, on-road markings and the use of variable message boards in the revised speed zones in Civic.
I have provided further detail on both the policy rationale for this change and the communication activity supporting the revised speed zones below.
Canberrans who wish to query or dispute a speeding fine are able to do so by contacting Access Canberra via:
https://www.accesscanberra.act.gov.au/s/article/traffic-and-parking-infringements- tab-overview or by calling 13 22 81.
Background
As Canberra has grown, more streets have evolved to be not only places to move through, but also places for people to stop and spend time. The City and Braddon have changed remarkably in the past decade, with a large increase in the number of people living in these areas. They have become hubs for dining, cultural events and other recreational activities, as well as for public transport use. This has resulted in more public transport users, pedestrians and cyclists using the area than ever before, who have to safely navigate the presence of motorists still using these roads to commute.
As a result, the streets in the City and Braddon have a changed function. Reducing speed limits reflects the changed use of streets by making the road system safer for all road users, particularly vulnerable road users such as pedestrians and cyclists.
In 2013, Roads ACT implemented 40km/h speed limit areas in all town centres within the ACT. This program was extended to include all group centres in 2015. Evaluation of this program found the community were broadly supportive of the reduced speed limit, including in the City and supported the expansion of the 40km/h speed limit to other adjacent streets in town centres.
The ACT Government has since implemented 40 km/h zones in all 18 ACT group centres. The extent of these speed limit zones has been reviewed for five
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