Trial speed limits –
Gold Coast Waterways Authority
wants to hear from you
Speed management is a shared responsibility and with that in mind, the Gold Coast Waterways Authority
wants to know what VMR members think about a trial speed limit in the Coomera River’s South Arm.
The 12-month trial has been underway since July 2018.
‘Part of our brief is to promote the safe and sustainable use of our
waterways. One of the ways in which we do that is to review fixed speed
limits and change them where appropriate,’ said CEO Hal Morris.
‘Before making changes, we undertake rigorous trials to ensure
our decision-making is informed by facts and has had input from key
members of the community such as waterway users, other government
agencies, businesses and residents.’
Provision for the trial is set out in the Speed Limits and Behaviour
Management Strategy 2018-20 approved by the GCWA Board.
Mr Morris said GCWA is assessing whether the trial speeds
will maintain appropriate levels of marine safety while minimising
regulation, improving travel times for smaller boats, and addressing the
problem of damaging wash caused by larger vessels.
‘We’d like to hear the views of VMR’s members on whether the trial
limit is achieving what we set out to do.
‘The trial will run until the end of June this year so there’s plenty of
time to provide us with your feedback either by writing to us or sending
us an email.
The feedback will help us decide whether to permanently fix the new
limits, make some refinements or revert back to the old ones.’
Mr Morris said the trial speed limits are consistent with speed limits
for rivers elsewhere in Queensland:
• 40 knots for all vessels less than 8 metres.
• 6 knots for all vessels 8 metres in length and over.
Prior to the start of the trial, the speed limit was 6 knots for all
vessels.
‘Speed limit changes will only be made in locations where there’s
evidence that a change will improve outcomes. The trial is part of that
evidence-gathering process.
‘Where a change is made, speeds will be fixed so they achieve an
appropriate balance between safety and transport efficiency.’
Mr Morris said the trial is taking into consideration:
• type and level of water traffic
• character and features of the waterway
• current recreational and commercial activities
• marine industry and
• environment.
The trial’s success will be measured through feedback from
enforcement agencies, stakeholder groups and the community, as well as
marine incident data and compliance data such as the number of marine
infringement notices issued during the trial period.
Mr Morris said one of the issues the GCWA often deals with is a
common misunderstanding that smaller boats and jet skis travelling at
faster speeds may cause damage to pontoons, jetties, revetments walls
and the shoreline.
To address this misunderstanding, the GCWA commissioned the
commercial arm of the Australian Maritime College, AMC Search, to
conduct a study into vessel wave wake.
The 2016 Vessel Wave Wake Study relevant to the Speed and
Behaviour Strategy for the Gold Coast Waterways Authority showed that
smaller boats and jet skis produce wash of much less energy once they
travel faster than about 20 knots or so.
As well as setting fixed speed limits, GCWA works cooperatively
with other agencies responsible for enforcing speed limits and managing
unsafe on-water behaviour such as Gold Coast Water Police, Maritime
Safety Queensland and the Queensland Boating and Fisheries Patrol.
‘When we receive complaints or reports from the community about
speeding or unsafe behaviour, we refer them to these enforcement
agencies for appropriate action,’ Mr Morris said.
In addition to the Coomera River South Arm trial, the GCWA is
completing a speed limit trial between Sovereign and Ephraim Islands.
During the 12-month trial which began in March last year, the speed
limit was reduced from 40 knots to 6 knots for all vessels and personal
water craft.
GCWA is assessing the information it gathered before deciding
whether to make that limit permanent. Subscribe to our e-newsletter for
updates.
If you’d like to know more, you can download copies of the Speed
Limits and Behaviour Management Strategy 2018-20 and the Vessel
Wave Wake Study relevant to the Speed and Behaviour Strategy for the
Gold Coast Waterways Authority from the GCWA’s website
www.gcwa.qld.gov.au
To give feedback on the Coomera River (South Arm) trial email us
at [email protected] or send a snail mail to PO Box 107 Southport,
QLD, 4215.
Vsheet -
MARCH 2019
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