Brisbane Greens councillor Jonathan Sriranganathan's second attempt at installing 30kph speed limits on Brisbane streets has been voted down in council chambers.
Gabba Ward representative Cr Sriranganathan and independent councillor Nicole Johnston put forward a motion on Tuesday saying: "Brisbane City Council supports changing existing speed limit rules so that the default speed limit on all 'local' and 'neighbourhood' streets in areas with residential land uses becomes 30kph".
The motion did not propose any changes to roads designated as "district", "suburban" or "arterial" roads.
It also supported special cases, where "certain individual 'local' and 'neighbourhood' streets in residential areas could still be signed 40kph or 50kph where the specific context makes this appropriate".
Amendments shot down
Despite supporting the motion, Cr Johnston also put forward an amendment to allow council to make speed limits in residential areas either 30, 40 or 50kph "where the specific context makes this appropriate".
The amended motion was voted down 24-1 with Cr Sriranganathan and Labor councillors all voting against Cr Johnston's amendment.
In her argument for the changes, Cr Johnston said the council needed "more tools in our toolkit to make sure streets in Brisbane have the right speed limit for the right context and room for more 40kph streets".
She criticised the LNP for refusing to contribute to the motion, going as far as to describe the council majority as being "prepared to accept deaths on our roads, support school children being put at risk, support 60kph regardless of the risks".
Both Cr Johnston and Cr Sriranganathan said the move to reduce speed limits was a "simple, cheap and practical change" that would make streets safer.
'Unhinged' proposal
LNP Deputy Mayor Krista Adams said the motion was "not just about speed and safety" and called it an "anti-car agenda".
She called it an "unhinged and un-costed Greens idea" that "doesn't allow for consultation".
Cr Adams said such low speeds were "impossible to comply with on a neighbourhood street" and could impact travel times for bus routes that used local streets.
She also said, in June, the council successfully reduced the speed limit of eight streets in Newstead from 50 to 40kph and would continue to use the speed limit review panel to make any necessary changes in the future.
