Opposition by Land Transport New Zealand to lowering the speed limit past Mount Maunganui College could lead to motorists getting off speeding tickets.
The legal risk of a council bylaw that did not have the support of New Zealand's key roading authorities was spelt out by Tauranga City Council transportation manager Hennie Roux.
Despite this risk, council yesterday agreed to introduce a bylaw to lower speeds from70km/h to 50km/h along the short stretch of Maunganui Rd coming out of the Golf Rd roundabout.
Council unanimously decided to draft a bylaw and take it out for public consultation.
Mayor Stuart Crosby was told last Friday that there was ``potential' a 50km/h zone would not be supported by Land Transport NZ.
"It is a risk I am prepared to take," he declared.
Mr Crosby said council was preparing to make a number of changes to the 70km/h stretch of road from the Golf Rd roundabout to the Central Parade shops, including a speed reduction.
But whether council spent the ``considerable' amount of money on roading improvements needed to secure Land Transport NZ's support for 50km/h remained to be decided, he said.
Land Transport NZ wants to include road narrowing and central islands _ something which Mr Roux said could create risk if not done carefully.
Mr Roux also said there was an enforcement risk if the bylaw did not get the support of the key parties.
Mount councillor Wayne Moultrie said lowering the speed limit to 50km/h had the support of Western Bay police traffic chief Senior Sergeant Ian Campion, but it was not necessarily the view of his superiors.
Cr Moultrie said the college had been noticeable by its silence on the issue of the seven or eight exits on to Maunganui Rd. He said some of these exits needed to be closed because many pupils crossed the road towards the railway line and Kentucky Fried Chicken.
There was a distinct reluctance to accept the suggestions of council at the moment, he said.
Cr Moultrie told the Bay of Plenty Times afterwards that council was not aware of any efforts undertaken by the college to improve road safety outside its boundaries.
He said the college was reluctant to do anything to find alternative parking for students and teachers away from Maunganui Rd. There was space for a drop-off zone in Ranch Rd.
Cr David Stewart told the meeting the council sought to lower the speed limit last year. It did not make sense to allow cars to accelerate up to 70km/h out of the roundabout and then drop to 50km/h _ all in the space of a few hundred metres.
There would always be risks around schools, and while 50km/h would not fix the problem, it would reduce the risk, he said.
Cr Murray Guy said the most cost-effective speed deterrent would be a speed camera.
Council traffic engineer Wayne Thompson replied that police controlled where speed cameras went, with the new one in Merivale costing $120,000. It could not be justified currently because there was no speeding problem for the 70km/h limit, he said.
Cr Guy said it was not all about speed, but "kids will be kids" and he looked forward to the day when speeds were lowered to 40km/h past all city schools.
Council pushes for limit cut
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