Rotorua's streets may get a speed limit shake-up. Photo / Laura Smith
Rotorua's streets may get a speed limit shake-up. Photo / Laura Smith
A speed limit of 30km/h could be imposed on many Rotorua streets.
The possibility is included in what will make up a draft speed management plan and members of Rotorua Lakes Council’s infrastructure and environment committee will decide whether to move to public consultation at a meeting on Wednesday.
Environmental health performance manager Niki Carling prepared a report for the meeting which detailed that the approach was in line with the Government’s approach to reducing road deaths.
As background, she said the Government had, through its National Policy Statements, signalled that trends were unacceptable and actions must be taken to address the phenomenon.
She said road crashes occurred because of three main factors: road condition, vehicle condition and speed.
“In terms of actual vehicle speeds, Waka Kotahi – NZ Transport Agency identifies through its research that the main causal factor of crashes is drivers exceeding legal speed limits, which in many cases are considered to be inappropriately high.”
Data indicated inappropriate speeding contributed to about 60 per cent of fatal crashes and 71 per cent of injury crashes nationally.
There were three options for urban speed limits, and the preferred option was to set urban connectors at 50km/h and local streets, roads outside schools and in the CBD at 30km/h.
Examples of an urban connector are Clayton and Sunset Rds.
The report noted a drawback to this option was negative community reaction and pushback against most local streets having a 30km/h limit.
“There are likely to be questions with regard to the potential impact that a proposed 30km/h speed limit will have on travel times on local roads.”
Benefits included it was “relatively easier to convey the idea of having a 50km/h limit on urban connectors”, rather than a universal 30km/h.
Examples of the possible impact on travel time in 30km/h areas included from a specific house in Blomfield St to the Redwood Visitor Centre having an increase of 76 seconds. It is about a 10.5km journey and takes about 16 minutes at the moment.
Sunset Primary School principal Eden Chapman said there were issues with speeding drivers “hooning around” the school and he did not believe lowering the speed limit would make any difference to that.
His opinion was investing in better roads and better monitoring was money better spent.
“I think it is overkill.”
He believed the proposal would lead to distracted drivers thinking they had more time to look at their phones or emails and lead to driver frustration.
“We can’t keep putting the speed limit down and down until there are no more deaths.”
He believed lower speeds around schools were “generally the right idea” but there were lots of times when there were no children present at school and the permanent speed reduction was a “step too far”.
For local roads, councils are required to implement recommended safer speed limits in the vicinity of at least 40 per cent of schools; 19 schools by June 30, 2024, with the remaining 29 to be addressed by December 31, 2027. This is 30km/h, either variable or permanent.
If it were applied to a 1km radius around schools, more than 75 per cent of streets would be lowered to 30km/h.
Rotorua salon Honey Comb owner Sarah Pearson thought lowering the limit in the CBD was a great idea.
Honey Comb owner Sarah Pearson is in favour of lowering Rotorua's CBD speed limit. Photo / Laura Smith
“Slow down, it’s better to be late than dead.”
She said drivers sped on Pukuatua St by the salon and she believed anyone who failed to abide by a lower limit would get stuck behind those who did.
Millers Fashion sales assistant Tadalinka Wright also thought reducing the speed limit to 30km/h in the city was a good idea.
“For tourists it’s good. They are more likely to stay in the area and shop if there is no one speeding through.”
Rotorua's Millers Fashion sales assistant Tadalinka Wright thinks a lower speed limit is a good idea. Photo / Laura Smith
Wright believed the limit would need to be enforced with speed cameras, however.
Rotorua Cycle Action has advocated for lower speeds in the CBD for years. Chairman David Crawley supported a 30km/h limit and believed it would encourage more people to get on their bikes.
He said it would create a safer environment for cycling and gave an example of how cyclists needed to merge with the flow of traffic at roundabouts, but many found that hard in a 50km/h zone.
Rotorua Mayor Tania Tapsell said the council was developing a speed management plan to contribute to a wider regional plan to address speed reduction at a local level.
She said it had already worked alongside rural schools to improve speed limits and was pleased there would be more progress to ensure children’s safety.
It was not the council’s job to enforce speed limits, she said. “That is the role of police, who currently have limited resources, so the Government would also need to better support police to enable safer roads.”
She said speed was not the only way to keep roads safe and “strongly” encouraged Waka Kotahi to continue investing in improving road standards, particularly on State Highway 5 toward Ngongotahā.
Police Minister Ginny Andersen said police were committed to reducing fatalities and injuries on roads.
“It is not a job for police alone, and requires all our partners, including Rotorua District Council, working together to achieve our Road to Zero goals.”
Police have staff out on the road every day, including dedicated road policing teams, boosted by the significant additional resourcing provided by the Government, she said.
“Since 2017, this has included an increase of 122 full-time equivalent constabulary in the Bay of Plenty district alone – a 19 per cent increase.”
Elected members are asked to accept the recommended approach to setting speed limits for Rotorua and the use of this approach to create a draft speed management plan and to authorise public consultation on it.
It is proposed that the few existing 20km/h speed limits be retained.
- Public Interest Journalism funded through NZ on Air
