Ponsonby Rd may get 40km/h slow zone

More than 600 people signed a petition seeking to lower the speed limit. File photo / Richard Robinson

One of Auckland's busiest thoroughfares, Ponsonby Rd, may be converted into a reduced-speed zone.

Auckland City's transport committee yesterday agreed to put a proposed limit of 40km/h for the 1.5km length of the road up for public consultation.

That followed a recommendation of the Western Bays Community Board and a petition of more than 600 people seeking the lower limit and other safety improvements on the road, where two pedestrians have been killed and at least 27 injured in the past 10 years.

Although the council added four pedestrian refuges in 2005, it has until now resisted community calls for a reduction of the 50km/h limit.

But the latest recommendation was approved without opposition yesterday, after a report from council road safety manager Karen Hay indicated that it would have little impact on most traffic, which travelled at a "mean" speed of 38.64km/h.

Despite that, Ms Hay said a significant proportion of vehicles travelled at between 60km/h and70km/h between 6am and 9am, and some drivers exceeded 100km/h after midnight.

The council must include organisations such as the Road Transport Forum and the police in consultations before making a final decision.