The New Zealand Transport Agency (NZTA) is decelerating plans to automatically revert 16 sections of state highway to their previous higher speed limits following community “feedback”.
The new land transport rule, campaigned on before the election by National, ordered sections of state highways classified as urban connectors and with lowered speed limits since January 1, 2020, to automatically return to their previous higher speed limits by July 1 this year.
It applied to 38 sections of highway.
Automatic speed limit increases on some sections of state highways will now be subject to formal reviews after outcry from communities who had fought for lower speeds. (Source: 1News)
In a statement yesterday, NZTA said it had received “feedback” from communities who were in strong support of keeping lower speed limits and that it would be reviewing speeds on 16 stretches of state highway.
Some communities had spent years fighting for lower speed limits, only for it to be revealed they were going back up again.
“Following careful consideration of this feedback and past evidence of community support, we can confirm that formal speed reviews on these urban connectors will now be undertaken,” NZTA group general manager of transport services Vanessa Browne said.
The formal reviews will involve public consultation, which will be open for six weeks starting in early April. Further information will be available once consultation starts, including an online consultation survey.
Once complete, NZTA will analyse the feedback, technical data, and cost-benefit analyses and make a final decision on the speed limits.
The roads up for consultation are:
Northland
- SH1 Kaitaia North from north of Wireless Road to north of North Park Drive (1km), which has a current speed limit of 60km/h, and a previous limit of 70 to 100km/h.
- SH1 Kaitaia 50 from north of North Park Drive to south of North Park Drive (290m), which has a current speed limit of 50km/h, and a previous limit of 70km/h.
- SH11 Te Haumi from north of Smith Camp Road to south of Tohitapu Road (1.06km), which has a current speed limit of 50km/h, and a previous limit of 80km/h.
- SH1 Moerewa from east of Leaity Street to east of Sir William Hale Crescent east (1km), which has a current speed limit of 50km/h, and a previous limit of 70km/h.
Waikato
- SH1C Hamilton from north east of Lorne Street to west of Howell Avenue (2.8km), which has a current speed limit of 60km/h, and a previous limit of 80km/h.
- SH26 Hamilton from SH1 intersection to north east of Berkley Avenue (0.65km), which has a current speed limit of 50km/h, and a previous limit of 60km/h.
- SH1 Turangi from south of Waiotaka Road to south of Te Arahori Street (2.1km), which has a current speed limit of 60km/h, and a previous limit of 80km/h.
Bay of Plenty
- SH5 South Rotorua 50, 70m northwest of Malfroy Road to south of the SH5/SH30 Old Taupō Road/Hemo Road roundabout (2.91km), which has a current speed limit of 50km/h, and a previous limit of 80km/h.
- SH30 Whakarewarewa to Tihiotonga from centre of SH5/SH30 Old Taupō Road/Hemo Road roundabout to north east of Tarawera Road (3.83km), which has a current speed limit of 50km/h, and a previous limit of 50, 60, 70, and 80km/h.
- SH30A 150m west SH30/SH30A intersection to SH30A eastern termination point (150m), which has a current speed limit of 50km/h, and a previous limit of 70km/h.
Gisborne
- SH35 Okitu from north of Sirrah Street to south-west of Wairere Road (2.59km), which has a current speed limit of 60km/h, and a previous limit of 70km/h.
- SH35 Gisborne from east of Wheatstone Road to north-west of Coldstream Road (1.8km), which has a current speed limit of 60km/h, and a previous limit of 70 to 80km/h.
Manawatū – Whanganui
- SH3 Whanganui from north of Tirimoana Place to south of Turere Place (770m), which has a current speed limit of 50km/h, and a previous limit of 70km/h.
South Island
- SH6 Marybank from north east of Allisdair Street to south west of Atawhai Crescent North (1.79km), which has a current speed limit of 60km/h, and a previous limit of 80 to 100km/h.
- SH6 Wakefield North from north-east of Bird Lane to north-east of Franklyn Close (800m), which has a current speed limit of 60km/h, and a previous limit of 70km/h.
- SH1 Rakaia township in Canterbury in the Rakaia township urban area (1.1km), which has a current speed limit of 50km/h, and a previous limit of 70km/h.
NZTA has also consulted on 49 state highway locations across the country on whether the current speed limit will remain, or it will be lifted. This consultation closed on Thursday last week, with final decisions to be made before July 1.
Automatic reversals unpopular in some communities
The move to reverse speed limit drops was met with criticism by several communities up and down the country, who had campaigned for years to get speed limits lowered.
Among them were parents and residents living near State Highway 6 near Atawhai in Nelson, who spent years trying to get speed limits to drop on a stretch of the road bordered by a shared pathway used by Clifton Terrace Primary School students.
“We were just shocked, we thought surely not. This is a mistake,” Parents for Active Transport Atawhai member Emily Osborne told 1News.
She said putting speeds back up wouldn’t save drivers much time.
“It would save travellers 27 seconds, and most people don’t really care about saving 27 seconds in the scheme of things.”
Rob Wemyss, Clifton Terrace School principal, worried the higher speeds could lead to the death of a child.
“It’s just one of those things that’s just an accident waiting to happen. Even at 60, it’s too fast.”
Others say higher speed limits could provide a boost to productivity.
“If you assume there’s about 30,000 vehicles doing the freight task, losing about five minutes a day,” interim chief executive of Transporting New Zealand Dom Kalasih said.
“That’s a loss of 2500 hours of productivity every day.”
In January, Transport Minister Chris Bishop said the reduction reversals were “all about making it easier for people and freight to get from A to B as quickly and efficiently as possible, which will help drive economic growth and improved productivity”.
“Throughout the world, 50km/h is used as the right speed limit to keep urban roads flowing smoothly and safely. The evidence on this is clear – comparable countries with the lowest rates of road deaths and serious injuries, such as Norway, Denmark and Japan, have speed limits of 50km/h on their urban roads, with exceptions for lower speed limits.
“These countries have strong road safety records, targeting alcohol, drugs and speeding. Our Government has a clear focus on improving road safety outcomes with clear targets to ensure Police are focused on the most high-risk times, behaviours, and locations.”
Speaking to media in India, Prime Minister Christopher Luxon was asked if the Government had underestimated that communities liked the lower speed limits.
“As we said at the time, there are some places where we need to restore those speed limits, there are others where there’s consultation needed,” he replied.
“We’re happy to go through that process to make sure we get it right, but a blanket speed limit reduction wasn’t the right approach.”
