Opposition Leader Shane Love tables petition in Parliament to reduce speed limit in coastal town of Leeman

A petition calling for the speed limit through the Leeman town site to be cut from 80km/h to 60km/h has been tabled in Parliament this week after it received more than 250 signatures. Residents in the coastal Mid West town have long called for the 80km/h speed limit along the town’s main street to be reduced, and their voices are one step closer to being heard. The notorious Indian Ocean Drive connects Perth’s northern suburbs to the Mid West, and is a popular tourist route that offers a scenic drive before linking up to Brand Highway. In most towns, the speed limit reduces from 110 to 60km/h, however motorists can travel through the town of Leeman at speeds up to 80km/h. Opposition Leader and Moore MP Shane Love launched the petition in November, calling for the speed to be dropped from 80km/h to 60km/h in the town, noting the current limit poses a road safety risk for Leeman residents exiting, entering or crossing over Indian Ocean Drive. Mr Love said the reduced speed limit was necessary to allow the safe entry and exit of traffic from the Leeman town site until slip lanes are installed. “The petition follows repeated calls from Leeman residents to Main Roads and the minister for road safety to review the speed limit, having witnessed many near misses,” he said. “Main Roads refused those requests on the grounds there had been no reported crashes on this section of the road in the preceding five years. “I think it is concerning that those requests from local residents who are slowing to turn or pull out were dismissed — there really is no substitute for local knowledge and experience.” Mr Love said there was no harm in drivers slowing down to take in what local coastal towns had to offer and urged the State Government to listen to Leeman residents’ calls. “In the absence of slip lanes, motorists are pulling out over double white lines because they won’t slow down for turning traffic,” he said. “I know of no other town where traffic hurtles through the town at 80km/h.”