Key Treatments

40 km/h zones in areas of high pedestrian activity

Speed is a critical factor for the safety of pedestrians. A vehicle that hits a pedestrian at 50km/h is twice as likely to cause a fatality as the same vehicle travelling at 40km/h. In 2018, 67 pedestrians were killed on NSW roads, up 13 from the year before. Pedestrians, especially the elderly, are among our most vulnerable road users.

High Pedestrian Activity Areas with a 40km/h speed limit in NSW have been proven to reduce crashes causing serious injuries and deaths by 33 per cent. They are installed in busy pedestrian precincts such as around transport interchanges, shopping centres and in CBDs. These areas use a range of traffic calming measures from painted threshold gateway treatments through to raised thresholds and kerb extensions to ensure motorists are travelling at speeds safe for vulnerable road users.

Key Treatments

Raised pedestrian (wombat) crossings

Raised pedestrian (wombat) crossings are raised off the ground to elevate the pedestrian to make them more visible to motorists in the road environment and also calm traffic by reducing speeds.

This treatment can be combined with kerb extensions which narrow the distance a person has to cross. Raised pedestrian crossings can reduce pedestrian crashes by up to 50 per cent.

Key Treatments

Pedestrian refuges

More pedestrian refuge islands are being installed on busy or wide roads in built-up areas in NSW.

Refuges improve safety for pedestrians by allowing them to cross the road in two stages and reducing the crossing distance of each stage.

Kerbs that redirect traffic away from pedestrian refuges also provide some additional protection.

Pedestrian refuges can reduce pedestrian crashes by up to 20 per cent.

Key Treatments

Roundabouts

Roundabouts can reduce intersection crashes by up to 85 per cent. They are the primary safe system intersection treatment as they reduce motorist’s speed, conflict points and impact angles – lowering the risk of serious injury and providing a safer outcome than traditional intersections.

Generally, roundabouts have a better crash record than signalised intersections with similar volumes.

Other benefits of roundabouts include simple and consistent priority on all approaches, improved visibility of the intersection, and slower speeds which provide drivers with more time to react to unexpected hazards.

Key Treatments

Pedestrian protection at signalised intersections

Pedestrian protection is provided at signalised intersections where conflicting pedestrian and vehicle phases both get the green light. The traffic signals are reprogrammed to give pedestrians a lead time to begin crossing before a vehicle gets a green light to proceed. More than 500 intersections are being upgraded to include this protection across NSW and all new traffic signals must have this feature installed by default to protect vulnerable pedestrians at signalised intersections. The installation of pedestrian protection phases can reduce pedestrian crashes by 30 per cent.