The council is set to discuss a draft submission to Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Agency about bilingual signage.
Such signage would help ensure there were everyday opportunities for all New Zealanders to engage with and use te reo Māori , it was stated in the draft.
The proposal would support iwi and Māori in their efforts to ensure Māori was a living language, the draft said.
The NZTA proposed adoption of bilingual signage for several signage types, mostly advisory signs, such as destination signs and those for cycle lanes.
The council signalled neutrality on the particular form some signs should take.
Implementation of bilingual signs would occur when road-controlling authorities needed to replace signage or when new signs were added to the network.
Cr Lee Vandervis said in a Facebook post ahead of today’s meeting he disagreed with the proposed bilingual signage.
‘‘The fundamental purpose of traffic signage is for safety and to direct traffic, often with split-second decision-making,’’ he said.
Council staff said in a report for the meeting it was reasonable to infer bilingual signs increased the demands on the task of driving and therefore would have an impact on road safety.
However, research indicated they made little difference and studies demonstrated ‘‘drivers appear able to absorb this extra demand, or negate it by slowing down, which ultimately results in no detectable change in accident rates’’.
