"It's ridiculous. It's a money raising scam," is the view of Magdalena Steffens as she hastens to an appointment under the arches of the Melbourne Building. "It's horrible."
It's a sensible safety measure, is the view of businessman Daksh Patel as he stands in the sun by the Melbourne Building.
They are talking, of course, about the revelation that the 40 km/hour speed limit in Canberra has raised $40 million for the ACT government in two years.
Mr Patel sees the need for the limit. He observes people dodging the traffic as they emerge from the pubs on a Friday, or rush across Northbourne Avenue for a tram or bus, "so it's better not to have a 60[kmh] limit".
In the completely unscientific survey done by The Canberra Times, most people supported the 40km/hour limit - and they didn't think it was largely a money-raising venture.
That approval ranged across the modes of transport - though walkers, of course, are often drivers as well, and even drivers get out of their cars.
Delivery driver Ankur from Hackett drives four or five times a day through the 40km/hour limit zone on Northbourne Avenue. "It's a bit slow but for safety, it's good," he said.
At the other end of the opinion range, Ms Steffens was adamant: "40 kilometres per hour is good for horses but we don't have any horses. It should only be for schools, kindergartens and old people's homes."
She also maintains that 40 is actually less safe than higher speed limits. At 40 km/hour, she feels that drivers lose concentration. They start looking around and gazing at anything but the road.
"It adds to congestion because people pay less attention. When they drive slowly, they look at the scenery."
Motorcyclist Gordon Beale said it was "extremely difficult" to stay under 40 kilometres per hour.
And when told that the ACT government had raised $40 million, he said simply: "Wow!"
"I heard that it was going nuts and they were raising money."
All the same, he accepted that the speed limit was a good safety measure.
Jon Davies had mixed feelings. He had fallen foul of the speed cameras but wondered why the limit couldn't just operate at night. During the day, he felt it was "unnecessary".
Bec Redden felt people would get used to the limit. "It's like when seat belts came in. People said it was crazy but they got used to it."
And she praised the ACT government: "Brave decisions mean doing things for the public good and riding out the inevitable backlash."
Her bugbear was people complaining that there weren't adequate warnings of a speed limit. Why warn people, she wondered. "It's like a bank robber telling us they should be told about CCTV cameras."
The strongest voice of condemnation was that of Father Tony Percy )who is also a thorn in the government's side over the decision to take over Calvary Public Hospital).
The low speed limit, he felt, was "no way to treat ordinary citizens. $40 million! The size of the fine is huge, and at a time when people are struggling with cost of living pressures.
"For the territory government to strip money out of people's pockets is terrible."
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