The bid to reduce Arrowtown's speed limit to 40kmh has passed another hurdle, gaining the initial support of the Queenstown Lakes District Council infrastructure services committee.
Along with a proposed changes for various parts of Wanaka, the Arrowtown township speed decrease was yesterday recommended as part of council's speed limits draft bylaw amendment.
Arrowtown's narrow streets, designed for horses and carts and with few footpaths, are often used by pedestrians, sparking calls for a review over safety concerns.
Providing the QLDC approves of the recommendations, a consultation process would begin in late November, to be completed by late January.
Submissions would be heard in February, after which reports would come back to the committee and the council for final approval.
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.
A short consultation process undertaken in July and August received 61 comments. Most respondents were concerned about the speed of vehicles and related safety issues, and supported a speed limit reduction.
Those against lowering the limit suggested enforcement and/or devices such as speed humps would be more effective, or that council should instead focus on accelerating its footpath programme.
Some submitters favoured a lower speed limit for the town centre only, including Buckingham St and Ramshaw Lane, rather than the whole town.
The only councillor to oppose the recommendation was Trevor Tattersfield, who was against the proposal because of the Arrowtown speed reduction.
"In setting a 40kmh limit in an urban area, it's a dangerous precedent, hard to enforce and it's a waste of time," Cr Tattersfield said.
"There is a lot of comment there," Cr Lex Perkins, of Arrowtown, replied.
"The school travel plan says it, the school, kindergarten, Grey Power ... But there is contention and we do need more consultation."
Also put to the committee was a recommendation from NZTA to lower the speed limit on State Highway 6 between the Crown Range Rd and Arrow Junction, from 100kmh to 80kmh.
It was not supported by QLDC asset management engineer Andrew Edgar, but the committee endorsed the speed limit change, nevertheless.
It also added a new point to the agenda, seeking an area-wide review on rural road speed limits around Arrowtown, such as McDonnell Rd.
The findings will be reported to the committee at the first meeting of next year.
