Wellington Mayor Tory Whanau and some city councillors are going to fight speed limit changes they say are forced on them against their will by the government.
Under new land transport rules councils were required to advise NZTA Waka Kotahi by 1 May on roads subject to reversal.
Wellington City Council officers identified three 30km/h speed limits on roads that fit the criteria under the rule.
Those were on Adelaide Road and Rintoul Street in Newtown and The Parade in Island Bay.
The staff recommended agreeing to the reversal of the speed limits on those roads from what they are now – 30km/h – to 50km/h – what they were prior to changes after 2020 – at a meeting next week.
But that has not halted plans from councillors to try stop the changes.
Councillor Geordie Rogers told RNZ that instead of agreeing with the reversal he would seek approval of councillors to write a letter to Transport Minister Chris Bishop to stop the changes.
Rogers said it could cost the council $150,000 to change the roads back to 50km/h speed limits.
He said it would be deadly and costly to their community.
“With the hospital, the schools, the retirement home and early childcare centres there [near the streets] it’s really important that we do keep everyone safe.”
Transport Minister Chris Bishop told RNZ that road safety was important and that he was focused on drugs and alcohol on the roads.
“We are also encouraging safer driver behaviour, promoting safer vehicles, and improved road infrastructure.
“The government is also prioritising the safety of Kiwi kids by introducing reduced speed limits outside schools during pick-up and drop-off times.”
Newtown Residents Association President Rhona Carson told RNZ upping the speed limits would be “short sighted”.
“I think there was quite a bit of consultation and residents and locals were quite in favour of reducing the speed limits for safety on narrow streets.”
Carson said particularly it made sense on Rintoul Street which she described as very narrow.
“Given that the community was in support of these changes I imagine that there will be protest at them going back again.”
All three streets are in the electorate of Green Party transport spokesperson Julie Anne Genter, who said the speed rule was nonsensical.
“It’s going to result in cars having speed limits change between 30 and 50 every few hundred metres in an area where you have really high numbers of kids walking and cycling to school, elderly people crossing the roads.”
Genter said she was hopeful the new transport minister would be open to looking at ways to not force reversals on communities that do not want them.
Whanau told RNZ the reversals would “inevitably result in more accidents and injuries”.
“Ahead of next week’s vote, I will be working with councillors to explore ways to oppose these unsafe changes Central Government seeks to impose.”
If the council agreed to the speed limit reversals they would come into force by 1 July.
Council staff said if the rule was not complied with the council would not be able to touch the speed limits on those streets for another three years without NZTA’s approval.
rnz.co.nz