Unley councillors passed a motion on Monday night to request the Department of Infrastructure and Transport to lower the speed limit on Unley Road from 60km/h to 50km/h.

The council wants the speed reduced on a 1.5km stretch of Unley Road between Greenhill Road and the Park Street/Wattle Street intersection. The remaining 1km stretch down to Cross Road would stay at 60km/h under the council’s proposal.

The section of Unley Road targeted for a 50km/h speed limit extends from Greenhill to the Park Street/Wattle Street intersection. Image: Google Maps

More than 28,000 vehicles pass through Unley Road each day, according to government data, making it one of Adelaide’s key arterial roads feeding traffic into the CBD from the southern suburbs at peak hour.

But it is also a growing residential precinct with dozens of shops, restaurants and cafes lining the road, particularly in the area where council is requesting a lower speed limit.

The council’s agenda paper said a 50km/h speed limit would create “more opportunities for outside dining” and support “Unley Road becoming a destination, not just a thoroughfare”.

The Unley Road Association, which represents the area’s more than 460 traders, said a speed limit cut is also needed for pedestrian safety given Unley Primary School and Walford Anglican School for Girls are located nearby.

“It’s a change that we’ve been asking for over 20 years,” Unley Road Association marketing coordinator David Walsh said, adding that a reduction is supported by “a majority of traders”.

“From our perspective, being the voice of the traders, that hasn’t changed – it’s always been about safety.

Unley Road. Photo: Tony Lewis/InDaily

“And also, we’d like the ability to be able to slow traffic down so that if [drivers] are looking for a particular business or shop on Unley Road… then it’s easy to locate it and find it when they’re doing 50 than when they’re doing 60.”

Walsh said peak hour congestion already prevents most commuters from travelling more than 50km/h on Unley Road.

“But if we can keep it to that 50km/h all day then that would be ideal for people then to slow down and… be a bit more concerned with their driving and be a bit more aware of not just the foot traffic but also the increase in bicycles that are being used on the road,” Walsh said.

Unley Road’s 60km/h speed limit is also out of step with lower speed limits on other key roads in the Unley Council area.

A 50km/h speed limit is in place for Goodwood Road’s shopping, dining and school precinct between the Millswood Underpass and Goodwood tram stop.

An even lower 40km/h speed limit is in place for a 750-metre stretch of King William Road filled with shops and restaurants. The rest of the road is 50km/h.

Walsh suggested Unley Road remained 60km/h because it was a solely state government-managed arterial road.

“It’s a thoroughfare road so you get a lot of traffic coming from the Hills down through Unley Road eventually off of Belair Road down to the city,” he said.

“And I think in many cases the powers that be don’t want to change that too much because obviously arterial roads like Glen Osmond Road are very busy. Unley Road is very difficult.

“I guess they don’t really want to change that too much and maybe they think there’s other congestions that might happen if it slows down.”

InDaily asked the Department of Infrastructure and Transport whether it was open to lowering the speed limit on Unley Road.

In response, a spokesperson said: “Unley Road is a major connection road for drivers commuting via the inner south.

“The Department will examine Unley Council’s request for a speed limit reduction once it is received.”

Unley Road accommodates roughly the same amount of average daily traffic as Goodwood Road (27,700 to 28,100), Fullarton Road (26,600 to 32,000) and Glen Osmond Road (25,600 to 28,300), according to government data.

Cars on Unley Road struggle to reach 60km/h at peak hour due to congestion, locals say. Photo: Tony Lewis/InDaily

Unley Council administration said the population along Unley Road will soon increase after the state’s planning authorities recently granted planning approval to a seven-storey apartment complex at 108 Unley Road.

Separately, a nine-storey, $150 million “Unley Central” apartment, office and shopping precinct is also slated for the Target store and car park near Unley Shopping Centre.

Construction also recently finished on another seven-storey apartment complex at 246 Unley Road.

“Over the past decade or more, the City of Unley has been contemplating the need to address the increasing traffic movement along Unley Road,” the council administration said in their agenda paper.

“For many people, Unley Road is an arterial road used to travel into or out of the CBD. For the City of Unley, this road is much more, and it is constantly changing and growing.

“Unley Road has minimal vacancies and businesses are thriving, but the Road needs some attention as it becomes busier with more urban infill.”

Unley Ward councillor Jane Russo, who brought the motion to lower the speed limit, said Unley Road was gradually getting more congested, meaning now is the time to consider a lower speed limit.

“I’d like to think that it needs to start being really a priority now, but that’s [the government’s] call,” she said.

“Lowering the speed limit is just one aspect of it and that could be done fairly easily I would have thought.”