Local streets in Victoria could be reduced to 30km/h speed limits under draft proposal

Some Victorian streets will have their speed limits reduced to 30km/h if the state government adopts the recommendations of a major infrastructure proposal.

The draft 30-year strategy from Infrastructure Victoria makes 43 recommendations, ranging from housing, energy, transport, health, social infrastructure and the environment.

Among them is for the government to "make local streets safer for children and communities" by reducing the speed limit to 30km/h, "starting in places that children often visit including around schools, playgrounds, childcare centres and kindergartens".

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"Road trauma is a leading cause of death for children aged 1 to 14 in Australia. Seven children die each year on Victoria's roads," the report states.

"Nearly 300 children a year are seriously injured, mostly on local roads with speed limits of 50km/h...

"The Victorian government should update its speed limit policy and work with local governments to update speed limit signs to set 30km/h limits, starting with local streets around places that children often visit."

The report noted that while pedestrians hit by a car travelling 50km/h have an 85 per cent chance of dying, the figure drops to 40 per cent for 40km/h and just 10 per cent when the vehicle is going 30km/h.

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Some parts of Victoria had begun trialing 30km/h zones before the release of the report, but Monash University's Dr Lauren Pearson said Australia is lagging well behind other parts of the world.

"(They) are one of the most cost-effective interventions we can use to enhance the safety and liveability of local streets... we have seen the effect of these speed zones in places such as Wales, Canada, Scotland, Colombia and across Europe," she said.

"In Toronto, Canada, there was a 67 per cent reduction in serious injuries following implementation of 30km/h speed zones.

"Similarly in London, fatal and serious injuries dropped by 46 per cent in areas with 30km/h speeds, with a further 8 per cent reduction in adjacent areas."

Infrastructure Victoria is accepting community and stakeholder feedback on its draft strategy until April 28.

The final report and its recommendations, which the state government must respond to, will be tabled in parliament later this year.

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