The Australasian College of Road Safety (ACRS) and Walking SA have joined forces to raise urgent concerns over the State Planning Commission’s recently released “Draft Design Standard 1 – Engineering Requirements for Land Division” and the accompanying “Draft South Australian Growth Areas Technical Manual”, as both documents fail to meet contemporary standards for safe, healthy, and sustainable residential street design.
The current draft standards, if adopted, would guide the design of future major residential developments across South Australia. However, we are deeply alarmed by several omissions and provisions that run counter to contemporary urban planning, health, and road safety practice. These include:
- No requirement to consider public transport infrastructure in new residential areas.
- A disregard for leading design guidance, including the South Australian Government’s own Active Travel Design Guide.
- Provisions for residential streets to be designed for vehicle speeds of 60 – 70 km/h, a setting known to drastically increase the risk of road trauma.
“This draft takes us backwards,” said Dr Ingrid Johnston, CEO of the Australasian College of Road Safety. “It entrenches car dependency, overlooks decades of best practice, and sets up new communities to face long-term safety, health and environmental consequences.”
The evidence is clear: higher speeds in residential streets sharply increase the likelihood of death and serious injury. At 60 – 70 km/h, a pedestrian hit by a vehicle has a near 100% chance of being killed or seriously injured. Designing residential areas with these speeds in mind directly undermines the South Australian Government’s commitment to Vision Zero and its Road Safety Strategy to 2031.
“We need walkable, connected, safe communities,” added Rod Quintrell, Executive Director of Walking SA. “These draft standards fail to deliver that vision. They risk locking in unsafe, inactive, and inequitable neighbourhoods for decades.”
The proposed design standards are also at odds with the South Australian Government’s Net Zero Strategy and its active bid to co-host COP31, which both emphasise walkable neighbourhoods and reducing car dependency.
Our organisations urge the South Australian Government to halt the adoption of the current drafts and undertake immediate revisions to:
- Mandate 30 km/h design speeds for residential streets.
- Integrate public transport considerations at the earliest planning stages.
- Align with the Active Travel Design Guide, Movement and Place Framework and Healthy Active by Design, and Safe System principles.
South Australia has the expertise and ambition to lead in safe and sustainable urban development. We cannot afford to compromise the safety, health, and wellbeing of future generations through outdated and dangerous planning standards.
ENDS
