Auckland Council votes against higher road speed limits, in opposition to Govt’s plan

Happier times? Prime Minister Christopher Luxon, Auckland Mayor Wayne Brown and Transport Minister Simeon Brown at a post-Budget breakfast in Auckland. Photo / Michael Craig

• Road deaths in Auckland have fallen by 30% where lower speed limits have been in place.
• Lower speed limits make a 20-minute trip in Auckland up to 15 seconds longer.
• 85% of crashes near schools happen outside the normal drop-off and pick-up times.

Auckland Council has voted 18-3 to oppose the Government’s plan to raise speed limits on the roads back to their levels at the start of 2020.

It’s a decision that will sorely test the relationship between Auckland Mayor Wayne Brown and the Government, especially Transport and Local Government Minister Simeon Brown.

Minister Brown has responded by saying he is “astonished” the council “has decided to back Labour blanket speed reductions”.

“We campaigned on reversing Labour’s blanket speed limit reductions at the last election,” he said. “Aucklanders voted overwhelmingly in favour of our Government, and we are now delivering on what we promised.”

In a split vote, 12-11, the council also voted to oppose the Government’s plan to allow “variable” speed limits around schools. Under this plan, lower limits would be permitted at the start and end of the school day, but not at other times. Councillors want low speed limits near schools at all times.

The higher speed limits were proposed by Minister Brown in a Draft Land Transport Rule called Setting of Speed Limits 2024, released in June by the Ministry of Transport.

Minister Brown said then the higher limits would deliver economic growth while “allowing drivers to get to where they want to go quickly and safely” and would also make the roads safer.

In a meeting today, several councillors said the minister had not provided evidence to support any of those claims. Instead, they cited a range of data they said showed his claims were wrong.

They also said the new rule flew in the face of the Government’s commitment to allow local authorities to make local decisions.

The decision to oppose the Government’s plans was made by the council’s Transport and Infrastructure Committee, which includes all councillors, the mayor and two members of the Independent Māori Statutory Board (IMSB).

This vote on variable speed limits around schools was originally tied 11-11, but chairman John Watson’s casting vote settled the matter.

Watson had earlier voted not to oppose the variable speeds plan. But, he explained, in the end he did not want to see “a headline that says half the council supports a wild west on the roads around schools”.

The committee had earlier heard a submission from Caroline Perry, director of the national road safety advocate group Brake. She said that two-thirds of crashes in Auckland happen because a driver makes a mistake.

“Lower speed limits are therefore critical to reducing the damage done.”

She also revealed that 85% of serious crashes near schools happen “outside the normal pick-up and drop-off times”.

This is due to a number of factors, including peak traffic times and many schools being busy outside normal teaching hours. Having lower speed limits only at those times, Perry said, would not address the issue well.

Senior managers at Auckland Transport (AT) confirmed the 85% figure was credible.

In a statement to the Herald after the meeting, Minister Brown said, “The Government is committed to ... ensuring slower speed limits outside schools during pick-up and drop-off times to ensure children are safe when arriving or leaving school.”

Auckland is in an unusual position compared to many other parts of the country, because AT began lowering speed limits on many roads four years ago. It now has data showing the impact this has had on deaths and serious injuries.

The data relates to the Covid years, when most transport patterns were thrown into disarray. But as AT managers explained to the meeting, in this case it’s relevant because it compares roads with lower speed limits against those where the limits didn’t change, over the same period.

A report by Abley consultants for AT reveals: “In the 24 months following the June 2020 Auckland speed limit reduction, Phase 1,” the report says, “roads have seen a 30% reduction in fatalities. In comparison, over this same period, the rest of the network has seen a 9% increase in fatalities.”

The report goes on: “For the same period, Phase 1 roads have seen a 21.3% reduction in serious injuries. In comparison, over this same period, the rest of the network has seen a 11.8% reduction in serious injuries.”

The difference was most marked on rural roads, where there was a 26.9% reduction in deaths and serious injuries over the two-year period, compared with 18.1 % on urban roads.

Councillor Angela Dalton quoted the Abley report in the committee meeting and said, “Why a government would even consider that increasing speed limits with statistics like that is a good idea, I can’t fathom it. The evidence is there from Phase 1. There’s no argument that limiting speed is saving lives.”

Minister Brown later commented, “Auckland Council is out of touch with the people of Auckland by supporting slowing Aucklanders down.”

Heavy traffic on the Southern Motorway near Penrose in June, after a crash blocked several lanes. Photo / NZTA

Dalton also asked the transport managers at the council meeting about the suggestion that lower speed limits were undermining economic efficiency and growth.

They replied that according to their analysis, the lower speeds currently in place in parts of Auckland have made a 20-minute journey, on average, up to 15 seconds longer.

Councillor Alf Filipaina asked, “What is the problem the Government is trying to fix?” Nobody around the council table attempted to answer that.

Nobody tried to defend the Government’s position, either, although councillor Maurice Williamson said they should be guided by the concept of “safety within reasonable limits”.

Councillor Richard Hills said that apart from safety concerns and “dubious” efficiency claims, there was a third reason to oppose the new speed limits rule: local decision-making.

“Like many councillors,” he said, “I have lots of school principals and community groups telling me they want safer speeds on the roads.” AT had already put its lower speed limit plans through extensive consultation and they were “always widely supported”.

“But this is central government telling us what to do. It’s a local issue and should be decided locally. We’re the local authority.”

This has been a consistent theme of Wayne Brown’s mayoralty and he applauded Hills when he spoke.

Mayor Brown later followed with an amendment to the main motion that said the local council is “best placed to understand local issues and set appropriate Auckland speeds, and the Government should not be overly prescriptive on speed matters”.

“Really,” he said, “butt out, Wellington.”

That was carried on a voice vote, with councillors Sharon Stewart and Williamson registering their opposition. Councillor Ken Turner joined those two to vote against the substantive motion, to oppose the draft speed rule in almost all respects. Councillor Mike Lee was absent.

Submissions on the draft rule are open until July 11, after which Minister Brown will receive a report from the ministry and make a final recommendation to Cabinet.

Despite the council’s views, the Government will have the last say.

This story has been updated to include the responses of Minister Brown.

Simon Wilson is an award-winning senior writer covering politics, the climate crisis, transport, housing, urban design and social issues, with a focus on Auckland. He joined the Herald in 2018.