Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Agency started public consultation yesterday on a proposal that features 30kmh limits during pupil pick-up and drop-off times for most schools next to state highways in the South.
A few 60kmh limits have been proposed in rural areas for those time periods.
A variable speed limit — from 60kmh to 100kmh — has also been proposed for vehicles on State Highway 1 approaching the Hillgrove Rd intersection, Moeraki, in North Otago.
The lower limit would apply for highway traffic when motorists approached the intersection from the side road.
The broader stretch of SH1 between Hampden and Palmerston is already the focus of a planned safety-improvements project. There were five fatal crashes there from 2015 to 2019.
Waitaki Mayor Gary Kircher said he expected residents to support the variable limit, so long as the transport agency followed through with planned roading engineering improvements.
"The real problem is lack of good visibility turning on or off Hillgrove Rd," Mr Kircher said.
A 70kmh variable limit was brought in at the nearby turnoff to Moeraki Boulders in 2017.
The Dunedin City Council’s public consultation about speed limits, mostly around schools, also started yesterday.
The council’s draft interim speed management plan proposes a limit of 30kmh for all Dunedin school zones, which are based on typical routes for children to get to school, including by walking and cycling.
Lower limits are also proposed for areas considered urban centres in Dunedin — Mornington, Caversham, Maori Hill and the tertiary education precinct.
Council infrastructure and development general manager Simon Drew said the council wanted urban centres to be safe and friendly places for pedestrians, cyclists and people with disabilities.
The Waka Kotahi summary about Otago and Southland said regional growth and a rebound in tourism meant traffic volumes were starting to return to pre-Covid-19 levels.
The agency expected tourism would continue to shape travel demand, together with the region’s primary production sectors and "the ongoing focus on improving the liveability of the region’s main urban centres in Queenstown and Dunedin".
In Queenstown Lakes, lower speed limits already applied to almost 90% of schools in the district.
In Southland, a former section of state highway at Edendale is proposed to have a lowered limit of 80kmh under the Southland District Council’s management.
A 60kmh variable limit is planned at the Five Rivers intersection on SH6, approaching the intersection with SH97.
A cut in the speed limit is proposed at Nightcaps, from 100kmh to 50kmh, and the transport agency said this would align the township with the existing 50kmh limit outside St Patrick’s School.
National Party transport spokesman Simeon Brown said the Government’s approach to road safety was simplistic.
"Labour’s plan is to slow New Zealanders down, rather than invest in our roads to make sure they’re safe to drive on," he said.
Transporting NZ chief executive Nick Leggett said the organisation was supportive of 30kmh speed limits around schools, in principle.
The Dunedin City Council consultation closes on December 9 and the Waka Kotahi consultation ends three days later.
