The speed limit on a section of Woodgate Road has been lowered to 70 km/h following resident concerns about safety.
Bundaberg Regional Council lowered the speed limit on Woodgate Road, from the Goodwood Road turn off for about 3.1 km, on 9 May 2023.
Residents had brought the matter to Council's attention through a number of requests to investigate safety concerns related to speeding traffic which triggered the review.
The speed reduction assessment process
Council adheres to Department of Transport and Main Roads guidelines for speed limit reviews on local roads.
The Queensland Road Safety Technical User Volumes QRSTUV: Guide to Speed Management defines the approach used within Queensland to review and revise speed limits within the Queensland state-road network.
When a review is triggered an engineering assessment is undertaken which is made against the Queensland Manual of Uniform Traffic Control Devices.
The assessment includes consideration of various criteria which includes, but is not limited to, factors such as road width, shoulder width, obstacles in proximity to the road, geometric constraints of the road, number of houses, intersections, road classification and previous crash history.
A recommendation to reduce or keep the speed limit is then made by a qualified engineer after a safety assessment.
The recommendation is then presented to the Traffic Advisory Committee before being decided by the Speed Management Committee which legally governs this decision.
According to the QRSTUV: Guide to Speed Management, the Speed Management Committee membership consists of a local government engineering representative, Transport and Main Roads engineering representative, Queensland Police Service representative and a Transport and Main Roads Road Safety Advisor or Road Safety Manager.
The department sets out the process local authorities must follow to review speed limits.
“Broadly, the aim of the speed limit review process is to determine and implement a speed limit that appropriately balances the road environment, the function of the road and the safety of all road users such that speed limits are realistic, consistent and consequently encourage voluntary compliance,” the Department of Main Roads website said.
The decision to reduce a speed limit is made through this formal engineering and safety assessment as applicable to the current road environment.
Speed limits are periodically monitored and can be changed in line with any changes that occur within the surrounding environment over a period of time.
Blah blah blah blah
A reduction of 20km/hr makes sense but 30km/hr!!
About time too, there are some nutters using that road going 120km/h at least this should bring them down to 90km/h