Phillip Island needs better transport planning, not just lower speed limits

By Michael Wright

The proposal to reduce the speed limit on Coghlan Road and other key arterial roads across Phillip Island has sparked considerable discussion within the community.

As Director of South Coast Bus & Taxi, a local transport operator with around 50 commercial passenger vehicles operating across Phillip Island and Bass Coast each day, I understand the importance of road safety and environmental protection.

I am also acutely aware of the Island's transport challenges, having spent six years serving on the Phillip Island Integrated Transport Study (PIITS) Committee alongside government agencies, Council representatives and community stakeholders.

While I acknowledge the efforts of Bass Coast Shire Council and Regional Roads Victoria to improve safety outcomes, I am concerned that the current speed limit review risks oversimplifying a complex issue.

A Departure from the Island's Transport Vision

What concerns me most is that the proposed reductions on roads such as Coghlan Road and Cowes-Rhyll Road appear inconsistent with the long-term vision established through PIITS.

That study recognised the need to balance environmental values with the practical realities of living and working on Phillip Island.

It recommended a generally consistent 80 km/h operating environment across the Island's major arterial roads, supported by targeted infrastructure improvements where required.

The current review appears to focus almost entirely on reducing speed limits, with some roads proposed to fall well below that strategic objective. In doing so, it risks replacing infrastructure solutions with regulatory ones.

Coghlan Road is more than just another road

Coghlan Road is not simply a local side road. It is the principal access route to Phillip Island's industrial precinct and an increasingly important economic corridor.

As industrial activity has grown, so too has the importance of this road for freight, service vehicles, tradespeople, public transport and local businesses.

Alternative routes often require heavy vehicles to travel through residential areas, school zones and constrained intersections.

Reducing the speed limit to 60 km/h may appear insignificant on an individual trip, but across thousands of vehicle movements each year, the cumulative impact on productivity, freight efficiency and service delivery becomes substantial.

Coghlan Road acts as a natural distributer and reducing the speed limit, in combination with the recent limit changes on Settlement Road and traffic treatment in Church and Chapel streets may encourage more extensive use of Phillip Island Rd which will cause unwanted congestion in Thompson Ave.

Some have raised cycling safety as a concern on Coghlan Road but the long-term solution should be delivering the shared pathway already identified in Council planning documents.

The Phillip Island Corridor Master Plan itself highlights inadequate cycling infrastructure as the core issue. Downgrading a major industrial transport corridor should not become a substitute for building the infrastructure the community actually needs.

The Reality of getting around Phillip Island

Phillip Island is a dispersed community stretching approximately 26 kilometres from end to end.

While active transport and public transport should continue to be encouraged, the reality is that most residents, visitors, workers and businesses still rely heavily on cars and commercial vehicles.

Freight must continue to move efficiently.

Tradespeople must continue to reach job sites. Public transport operators must continue to provide reliable services.

The concept of "Island Time" may justify reducing some 100 km/h roads to 80 km/h to better reflect the Island's character and environmental values.

However, reducing long sections of major arterial roads to 60 km/h requires compelling evidence that the benefits outweigh the economic and mobility costs.

Wildlife Protection needs a broader approach

Protecting wildlife is a goal almost everyone supports.

However, there are legitimate questions about whether blanket speed reductions alone will deliver the desired outcomes.

Harbison Road, for example, experiences significant wildlife strike rates despite average travel speeds reportedly being well below the posted speed limit.

As a transport operator, our experience is that wildlife collisions can occur even at relatively low speeds. This suggests speed is only one part of the problem.

A more comprehensive strategy should be considered, including:

• Dynamic speed limits during dawn and dusk periods when wildlife activity is highest.

• Wildlife fencing to guide animals toward safer crossing locations.

• Dedicated wildlife crossings or underpasses where appropriate.

• Improved warning systems and targeted signage.

• Further investigation of emerging technologies such as virtual fencing.

We already have successful examples of dynamic speed management on Phillip Island.

Newhaven College school zones reduce speeds during periods of peak risk while allowing normal operating conditions outside those times.

Infrastructure still matters

One of the frustrations with the current debate is that many of the infrastructure improvements identified in previous planning studies remain undelivered.

Phillip Island Road at Surf Beach was identified years ago as a priority corridor requiring safety and capacity improvements.

We had plans presented, yet more than a decade later, the primary response remains stick with what was described at the time as temporary speed limit reductions rather than the delivery of more substantial infrastructure solutions.

Once they come down they never go back up.

More broadly, there is a growing sense of frustration that policy attention appears focused on reducing speed limits on relatively low-risk rural roads while some of the Island's most significant safety concerns remain unresolved.

Anyone attempting to travel from Smiths Beach Road to Coghlan Road, or vice versa, knows the challenge of crossing Phillip Island Road during busy periods.

Residents are effectively forced to "run the gauntlet" across one of the Island's busiest transport corridors, particularly during holiday periods when traffic volumes are at their highest.

If improving road safety is genuinely the primary objective, then addressing known conflict points such as these should arguably rank ahead of reducing the speed limits on Coghlan Road further down where there is none.

Strategic infrastructure upgrades at key intersections would likely deliver far greater safety benefits while also improving network efficiency and traffic flow.

Striking the right balance

Phillip Island deserves a transport strategy that balances environmental protection, road safety, economic productivity and community mobility.

I support measures that genuinely improve safety and protect wildlife.

However, lower speed limits alone should not become a substitute for the infrastructure investment and broader environmental initiatives required to address these issues effectively.

The challenge is not choosing between safety and efficiency.

It is delivering both.

As the speed limit review progresses, I encourage the Victorian Government, Regional Roads Victoria and Bass Coast Shire Council and its local residents to revisit the recommendations affecting key arterial roads and ensure the final outcome aligns with the original intent of the Phillip Island Integrated Transport Study: a safe, efficient and environmentally responsible transport network that serves residents, visitors and local businesses well into the future.