The alarming statistics about Curran Rd, in Otatara, were presented to the public as part of the Invercargill City Council’s speed review consultation by road safety engineer David McCormick.
Yesterday, the council held an engagement event about the matter with the Otatara community, which has been vocal about concerns in relation to some of the council’s recent decisions including changes to traffic flow in Stead St for about six months and a speed camera administrative error which saw more than 8500 speeding tickets issued to Invercargill drivers in a month.
Otatara residents Barbara Daley and Mary Tawhara, who had both lived in the area for about 40 years, were surprised at the data from Curran Rd.
They both supported the proposal to change the speed limit there from 100kmh to 60kmh.
"We know it is a dangerous road but it was shocking to hear that was one of the top 10 most dangerous roads for serious crashes," Mrs Daley said.
"Of course we would support lowering the speed limits there but the question is if people would respect it," Mrs Tawhara said.
Road policing team leader Sergeant Geoff Sutherland was also at the meeting.
Although he could not quantify how many crashes he attended there in the past year, in "90% of the crashes [there], the vehicle ended up in a ditch".
"It is a big example of a road that should not be 100kmh.
"At the end of the day, it is just a short stretch of the road but, if we lower the limit to 60kmh, it will not take much time off anyone’s journey but it can improve the safety for the community."
Council roading manager Russell Pearson said education was the best way to achieve that and the review was part of a wider approach by Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Agency which aimed to cut road deaths to zero.
The council was proposing to work towards speed limits of 40kmh in urban areas and 60kmh in rural ones.
In the city centre and suburban shopping streets such as in Windsor and South City, limits would drop to 30kmh, he said.
"Speed is a contributing factor of most crashes and what we do know is the faster you go, the bigger the mess."
Consultation about the matter would close on March 7 and all proposed changes could be found on the council’s website, he said.
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Comments
The motoring public deserve something better than a knee-jerk reaction of such a low proposed speed limit. It will only serve to cause increased frustration and lead to more crashes. And it could look like another cynical revenue-gathering exercise.
80 km/h seems a reasonable reduction.