Northland MP Mike Sabin has made no progress over the last year in persuading the Far North District Council to introduce a speed restriction on the beach at Ahipara, but that has all changed now.
Mayor John Carter has told Mr Sabin that he shares his view that the council has an obligation to the community to address the problem of traffic speeds with urgency, as opposed to leaving it for the yet-to-be-constituted Te Oneroa a Tohe Governance Board.
Mr Carter said the council already had the ability to control vehicle speeds on beaches via its reserves bylaw, which prohibited speeds greater than 15km/h. That could be seen as a little slow, however, so signs advising of a 30km/h limit were about to be erected at Ahipara, Waipapakauri Ramp and Tokerau Beach, although enforcing them would not be easy.
Prosecutions would have to be pursued under the Summary Proceedings Act, which would be a convoluted process, so using that bylaw would not be ideal. It also applied to all beaches in their entirety, placing onerous restrictions on responsible drivers outside congested areas.
A more effective approach, he said, would be to set a 30km/h limit on specific parts of specific beaches under the speed limits bylaw, leaving the open road limit in place elsewhere, while the council engaged in public consultation. Council staff had advised that a temporary limit could be imposed within a matter of days, renewable after six months, which could provide a solution at Ahipara until Te Oneroa a Tohe Governance Board was constituted.
