#90 2026 Australasian Road Safety Conference (2)

The 2026 Australasian Road Safety Conference (ARSC) was held recently in Sydney (26-29 October), bringing together practitioners and researchers from government, industry and academia to share their knowledge and expertise. Road Solutions attended, along with many participants from Australia and across the world, to present the latest research findings on road safety and related areas.

Road Solutions at ARSC2026

Road Solutions presented three original papers at ARSC2026, including:

• Examining public support for lower speed limits in Melbourne, Australia.

• Enhancing cyclist and pedestrian safety – Fischer St, Torquay, Victoria.

• A network-wide approach to setting speed limits.

The ARSC2026 series of briefs provides a summary of these papers, commencing in the current brief with the first listed above. The other two papers will be summarised in subsequent briefs later this month.

Examining public support for lower speed limits in Melbourne

Rationale and approach

Long-term strategic planning of road networks is shifting from traditional car-centric approaches to models that more safely and equitably accommodate all road users, including pedestrians and cyclists. Examples of this in Australia include New South Wales, Queensland and Victoria adopting Movement and Place frameworks. A key part of this shift is the introduction of lower (e.g., 30-40km/h) speed limits in urban areas with high-level pedestrian and/or cyclist activity. Lower speed limits on local streets are important for better protecting vulnerable road users and achieving the objectives of increasing active transport and creating vibrant, sustainable places and communities.

While lower speed limit policies have recently been promoted for local streets, especially those with high pedestrian and cycling activity, empirical evidence on public support for such measures remains limited. This research investigated the extent of public support for lower speed limits on local streets in Melbourne, identifying the key factors associated with this support. Data collected from an online survey in Melbourne, Australia (n = 500), were analysed using an advanced modelling technique, the Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Model (PLS-SEM), to show relationships between different constructs or factors.    

Results

Overall, there was moderate (42%) support for the introduction of 40 km/h speed limits on all local streets, including 13% strongly supportive and 29% somewhat supportive. Around one quarter (24%) were neutral, while one third (33%) were opposed either somewhat or strongly. There was less support regarding 30 km/h speed limits on all local streets. The majority (54%) of participants opposed this policy, either strongly (32%) or somewhat (22%), while 18% were neutral. This 30 km/h speed limit was only supported by 27% of participants in total. In addition, most participants expressed moderate or strong concern about traffic congestion, safety, and environmental impacts of motorised private transport.

The PLS-SEM analysis showed that public support for lower speed limits was associated most strongly with environmental concerns, followed by perceived traffic safety. Resistance to lower speed limits was evident in negative associations with three constructs, including perceived traffic congestion, identification with car drivers, and older age. This opposition was strongest in relation to identification with car drivers, which could generally be expected. The relationships are illustrated in Figure 1, where the solid and dotted lines show positive and negative associations, respectively.

Implications

This research highlighted moderate support for the 40km/h speed limit on local streets, but less support for the 30 km/h speed limit. Results supported campaigning for lower speed limits on traffic safety and environmental grounds and applying incremental changes in specific local areas. Perceived traffic congestion negatively affects public support for lower limits, but there is evidence that lower speed limits do not substantially increase traffic congestion. Other research also shows that public acceptance and support for reduced speed limits tends to increase over time post-implementation.

Additional resources

Proceedings for the 2026 event will be made available following the conclusion of the conference. Proceedings of previous conferences dating back to 2015 are available via the Australasian College of Road Safety.