The speed limit on Barrenjoey Road between Newport and Palm Beach is marked to be reduced from 60 to 50 kilometres per hour starting as soon as this Thursday 7 August.
While indicating some initial support for the changes, Pittwater MP Jacqui Scruby has confirmed she is seeking a hold on the changes to give time for stakeholders, including herself, to properly consider it. Ms Scruby says she is chiefly concerned over the Newport Hill becoming a speed trap.
The Newport Road Safety Review, requested by the former member for Pittwater Rory Amon, identified 46 crashes between July 2019 and June 2024 along Barrenjoey Road from Beaconsfield Street, Newport to Crane Lodge Place, Palm Beach. In response, Transport for NSW says it will reduce the speed limit to 50 kilometres per hour in both directions to improve safety for pedestrians, cyclists, and motorists, and to align this section of road with NSW Speed Zoning Standards.
Pittwater MP Jacqui Scruby said that the reduction in speed was a response to both data and community concern, but later added that she had asked the Minister for Roads for a hold on the decision to give her time to “critically analyse the decision.”
“I will be challenging the decision, especially for Newport Hill, which is the most problematic stretch to maintain 50km hour and will likely become a speed trap,” she said in an updated statement on the weekend.