Speed Limit Change ‘Disappointing'
Article – David Hill – Local Democracy Reporter
A Waimakariri district councillor has expressed his frustration at Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Agency's decision to restore the 100kph speed limit on SH1 south of Woodend.
A decision to restore a 100kph speed limit on State Highway 1, south of Woodend, is being labelled ''disappointing'' by one Waimakariri councillor.
Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Agency has announced it will reverse its 2020 decision to lower the speed limit to 80kph on the 3.17km stretch of road between Woodend and Cam River, near Kaiapoi, following public consultation.
Around 49 percent of the 2327 submissions supported retaining the 80kph speed limit, while 50% wanted it restored to 100kph and 1% were neutral.
But councillor Philip Redmond, the council's roading portfolio holder, said any decision should be based on the merits of submissions rather than being ''a numbers game''.
The Waimakariri District Council submitted against restoring the 100kph speed limit, citing safety concerns.
''The outcome is disappointing and it is not the outcome I was expecting.
''When we, as a council, are dealing with submissions, it is not a numbers game.
''We look at the submissions people are making and we look at the merits.''
Cr Redmond said it would have made sense to defer the speed limit review until the Woodend Bypass has been build.
''We will be having a look to see if there are any other options to support our position.
''Myself and most of my colleagues are not keen on blanket speed reductions, but we were unanimous at leaving this speed limit alone.
''It (80kph) is an appropriate speed for safety reasons, but maybe it could be reviewed when the bypass is built.''
The Government consulted on several speed limits around the country after introducing new rules to reverse blanket speed limit reductions.
Following consultation, speed limits on one section of road in Southland and five in the North Island will remain the same, while 43 speed limit reductions will be reversed.
A further 38 sections of state highway had already been identified for auto-reversal, while 16 speed limits are still subject to further consultation, including SH1 through the Rakaia township.
An NZTA spokesperson said the new speed limits will be in place by July 1.
The new Setting of Speed Limits Rule 2024 required NZTA to specifically measure levels of public support through the consultation when making its final decision.
While the council's submission did not receive any extra weighting, information gathered from iwi, councils and those with particular experience or insights will help inform future speed limit reviews, the spokesperson said.
''It will also feed into the variable speed limits implementation outside school gates, which has just started.''
The speed limit on SH1 between Cam River and Woodend was lowered from 100kph to 80kph in December 2020.
NZTA data shows there were 82 crashes on SH1 between Cam River and Woodend in the 10 years to December 2020, including 10 serious crashes, resulting in 15 serious injuries and two deaths.
Since the 80kph speed limit was introduced, there have been 35 crashes, including four serious crashes, resulting in five serious injuries, but no deaths. The variable speed limit of 60kph at the Pine Acres intersection, north of Kaiapoi, where the bulk of crashes occurred, will remain in place.
LDR is local body journalism co-funded by RNZ and NZ On Air.
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