Speed and safety
 Better Placed: Better for People |  Future Transport: Safety and Performance |
A healthy environment is one where the road is safe – reducing the risk of injury by design, where the speed and street environment both minimise the risk of serious injury. Factors like road speed and geometry, lighting and footpath crowding all affect the safety of the community.
Safety also forms a part of a community’s wider wellbeing, including the perception of safety, comfort, physical exercise, and mental health. Layout, landscaping, natural surveillance and wayfinding can make places feel safe. The presence of people of different cultures, ages and abilities gathering for social activities can indicate that a place is a safe, comfortable, and active environment.
Key questions
- Is the intended speed zone for key roads safe for all users of that road? Does the physical design fit that design speed? (e.g. default urban speed limit of 50 kmh or lower)
- Has a Safe System approach been taken? Are the road design and speed self-explanatory for both movement and place?
- Are streets comfortable and easy to walk along – not too crowded, buffered from high-speed or high-volume traffic, shaded from summer heat? Is there a simple and logical layout with appropriate signs and wayfinding? Does the landscape encourage direct routes with clear lines of sight?
- Has personal safety been considered? Is there an evening or night-time economy? How do people move to and from the area, and between nodes? Is the lighting and activation strategy aligned?
