Published on Tuesday, 9 December 2025 at 10:32:00 AM
The Shire of Bridgetown-Greenbushes has successfully implemented an area wide 40km/h speed limit across the Greenbushes town site. A proactive move to improve safety for pedestrians and enhance liveability by creating slower, safer streets, especially with the increased presence of heavy vehicles.
This achievement demonstrates how Local Government leadership and advocacy, backed by data, community support and localised knowledge can drive meaningful change. By applying proven road safety strategies, the Shire established safer, more liveable streets for everyone.
The process began in April 2022 with a request to Main Roads WA (MRWA) to lower the speed limit on Stanifer Street, the town’s main road. This route sees frequent heavy haulage traffic accessing the Talison Lithium mine, has predominantly residential access and is a key crossing point for school children and residents, with Greenbushes Primary School located nearby.
As part of the Shire’s process to review and apply for speed limit changes, relevant data was collected, and a road environment review was conducted to support the application. The request was formally submitted to MRWA in July 2022. Despite evidence that other towns have received reduced speed limits on highways and main streets through town sites, the response received in September 2023 indicated the application was unlikely to be supported.
Following this, the Shire continued to advocate for a lower speed limit, concerned that the default of 50km/h was not appropriate given the mix of heavy vehicles, vulnerable road users and the surrounding land use. The Shire reached out to the Minister for Transport and the Minister for Road Safety to initiate further discussions.
In early 2024, MRWA advised that precinct wide 40km/h zones could be considered to support pedestrian safety and create safer environments across a wider area. In April, the speed limit reduction on Stanifer Street was approved and MRWA recommended extending the limit across the entire town site. Due to this being different to the original request, the Shire consulted the community via a mail-out, which saw support for the proposed area wide reduction. In May 2024, the speed limit across the town site of Greenbushes was reduced to 40km/h.
This success is an example of what can be achieved when strong advocacy, evidence and community engagement come together. Creating safer more liveable towns which prioritise people.
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