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Pennant Hills CBD - 40km/h High Pedestrian Activity Area (HPAA) and Public Domain Improvements

lower speed safer community

Council, in partnership with Transport for NSW, have introduced 40km/h speed limits throughout the Pennant Hills town centre.

40km/h signs have been installed and the maximum speed limit for those areas will be 40km/h at all times. Driving at lower speeds improves a driver’s ability to stop quickly and react to the unexpected. This creates a safer road environment for all road users, particularly vulnerable groups such as the elderly, children, pedestrians and cyclists.

What is a 40km/h High Pedestrian Activity Area (HPAA)?

These are areas of high pedestrian activity, near shopping strips, railway stations, bus interchanges, beach-sides and services such as medical centres. The maximum speed limit is 40km/h at all times. The different road environment helps to alert drivers to the lower speed limit and makes them aware of the presence of pedestrians moving about or near the road.

Where do the new speed limits apply?

The 40km/h speed limits have been signposted on parts of the following roads:

Yarrara Road, Shields Lane, Ramsay Road, Hillcrest Road, Fisher Avenue and Railway Parade, Pennant Hills.

Why 40 km/h?

Managing speed, in accordance with safe system principles, is a key component in managing pedestrian safety. Research and scientific analysis show that a pedestrian hit by a car travelling at 40km/h has twice the chance of surviving the collision than if the car was travelling at 50km/h. Travelling at speeds higher than 40km/h greatly increases the risk of injury and death to pedestrians.

Pedestrian safety

Hornsby Shire Council and Transport for NSW are strongly focused on pedestrian safety. We recognise that everyone is a pedestrian at some time and should be able to walk safely. 40km/h High Pedestrian Activity Areas are part of a strategy to reduce the number and severity of crashes. They have been introduced since 1991 as part of Local Area Traffic Management schemes. Changing the way streets are used in town centres improves the quality of life. They become places for people, not just traffic. The treatment has been developed in accordance with Transport for NSW guidelines for “High Pedestrian Activity Areas”.

The Pennant Hills HPAA location

The road treatments installed are designed to improve pedestrian amenity by providing a self-enforcing low speed environment consisting of the following devices:

  • 40km/h High Pedestrian Activity Area in parts of Yarrara Road, Shields Lane, Ramsay Road, Hillcrest Road, Fisher Avenue and Railway Parade
  • Raised Threshold Entries with landscaped blister islands in Yarrara Road, Ramsay Road, Hillcrest Road and Fisher Avenue
  • Median traffic island in Yarrara Road at Hillcrest Road
  • Pedestrian refuge islands in Ramsay Road
  • Landscaped kerb blister islands in Hillcrest Road
  • Pedestrian refuge islands in Fisher Avenue near Pennant Hills Road
  • Associated pavement delineation and traffic signs