Arrowtown's speed limit may be reduced to 40kmh next year if the Queenstown Lakes District Council's infrastructure services committee accepts a recommendation at its meeting in Queenstown on Tuesday.
In his report to the committee, asset management engineer Andrew Edgar said the council adopted its Speed Limits Bylaw in 2009, which set the speed limits on local roads within the district.
Changes to speed limits were typically made once a year and were generally initiated through requests from the public.
Mr Edgar said a series of amendments to the bylaw had been developed this year, the most notable of which was the proposed 40kmh speed limit in Arrowtown.
The proposal had come from several sources, including the Arrowtown Primary School, and submissions to the 2011-12 Annual Plan, particularly from the Arrowtown Village Association.
"The desire to lower speeds comes out of concern for pedestrian and cyclists safety in the area, where there are few footpaths," Mr Edgar said.
"At present, Arrowtown does not have a pedestrian safety problem in terms of crashes - there has been one serious crash involving a pedestrian in the last five years."
Mr Edgar said the community already discerned a "significant risk" attached to travelling to school by bike - just under 50% of school children would like to travel to school by bike, but only 15% do.
A short consultation process was undertaken in July and August to gather initial views on the proposal from those affected, with 61 comments received.
Respondents were asked if they had concerns about the speed of vehicles in Arrowtown; if they thought there was a safety issue; if they thought the speed limit should be reduced; and if measures other than a reduction in the speed limit should be used to make the roads safer.
The majority of respondents answered "yes" to all questions.
Those against a lowered speed limit suggested enforcement and/or speed devices - for example speed humps - would be a more effective way of controlling speeds; the council should focus instead on accelerating the footpath programme; and there needed to be regard for the impact lower speed limits and speed control devices would have on Arrowtown streetscapes.
Mr Edgar said some submitters favoured a lower speed limit for the "core of the town centre", for example, Buckingham St and Ramshaw Lane, rather than the whole town.
The committee was recommended to support the lowering of the Arrowtown township speed limit to the council.
Other proposed speed limit changes affected Hawea, Hawea Flat, Albert Town and Cardrona, along with a section of State Highway 6 between Albert Town and Mt Iron, recommended by the New Zealand Transport Agency (NZTA).
However, another recommendation from NZTA - to lower the speed limit at State Highway 6 between the Crown Range Rd and Arrow Junction from 100kmh to 80kmh - was not supported by Mr Edgar.
Providing the council approved of the recommendations, a consultation process would begin in late November.
It would be completed by late January.
Submissions would be heard in February and reports would then come back to the committee and the council.
Proposed speed limit change
Arrrowtown: from 50kmh to 40kmh throughout the township.
Hawea: Esplanade Reserve: Current speed limit 50kmh, proposed limit 20kmh.
Hawea Flat: Camphill Rd: Extension of the 100kmh to 70kmh speed limit, from 1050m west of Gladstone Rd to 1400m west of Gladstone Rd.
Albert Town: Old Racecourse Rd and Ewing Pl: Current speed limit 70kmh, proposed speed limit 50kmh.
Cardrona: Travelling in the Wanaka direction proposed changes are:From 100km to 70kmh - 1385m south of Soho St; from 70kmh to 50kmh - 630m south of Soho St; from 50kmh to 70kmh - 290m north of Soho St; from 70kmh to 100kmh - 120m north of Pringles Creek Rd.
State Highway 6 between Albert Town and Mt Iron: From 100km to 80kmh
