INGLEWOOD’S speedy stretch of Beaufort Street is heading to 40kmh between Central Avenue and Crawford Road under a new trial.

That part of the street has been a hotspot of pedestrian safety concerns for at least a decade, trapped in time as other bits of Beaufort further south get lowered speed limits and speed-tempering design changes. 

A pedestrian crossing installed there hasn’t quite done the trick: The speed limit’s too high so locals say they often see drivers whizzing through the crossing without seeing it. 

In February 2020 Stirling council agreed on trying out a 40kmh limit for two years. Community sentiment was pretty evenly split in a consultation survey, but pedestrian safety won out over the drivers concerned about increased travel time. 

A year and a half later and the $255,000 LED signs are now up warning drivers to slow down.

The local community and traders’ group Inglewood on Beaufort welcomed the lowered speed trial, hoping it’ll make their patch more of an inviting precinct once it’s safer for pedestrians and bikes. 

The council will monitor traffic volumes, speed, accident data, pedestrian activity and they’ll take comments before deciding whether to make it permanent.

by DAVID BELL