A TRIAL to reduce the speed limit along Beaufort Street is going ahead after more than 15 years.
Stirling councillors voted to approve the two-year trial at its February 11 meeting, which will set the speed limit as 40km/h between Central Avenue and Crawford Road in Inglewood.
The City of Stirling has been seeking the speed reduction since 2004 but had been refused by Main Roads until 2018.
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READ NOWCr Bianca Sandri said there had been lots of lobbying to achieve the trial, which she believed would add value and a “better vibe” to Inglewood.
“(Approving this) is saying thank you to the community of Inglewood,” she said.
But Crs David Boothman and Elizabeth Re were concerned that 53 per cent of survey respondents opposed the speed limit reduction, though Cr Sandri argued the community was “strongly for” it.
A report by City officers said it normally required minimum 50 per cent support to proceed but deemed the “relative closeness” of survey results and potential road safety benefits sufficient to go ahead.
Inglewood resident Gordon Wyre told the meeting it was a “dangerous precedent” to ignore the community’s wishes and believed the change would cause “rat running” through the area.
Infrastructure director Michael Littleton said a report following the trial would determine if rat running occurred and the current operating speed of Beaufort Street was marginally above 40km/h.
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