If you live in the lower North Island and have a strong opinion on speed limits, then Waka Kotahi wants to hear from you.
Consultation on the draft Interim Speed Highway Management Plan closes at 5 pm next Monday, 12 December.
It covers all regions and proposes new speed limits on parts of the state highway network, particularly around schools and some marae.
Vanessa Browne, National Manager Programme and Standards, says speeds across Aotearoa - New Zealand must be managed with other elements such as infrastructure, safe vehicles and safe drivers.
“In this way, we can protect people by avoiding serious injury and being killed on our roads. The plan isn’t proposing to stop accidents from happening. This simply will not happen. However, we can focus on reducing the harm that happens when people make mistakes. Unfortunately, as humans, we all occasionally make mistakes. A safe system plans for this to happen.”
Vanessa Browne says road crashes are more common than most people might think.
“We see and hear about the major ones on the news, but you don’t see the everyday crashes that don’t make the headlines. Between 15 November and 5 December on State Highway 2 alone in the Wellington/Wairarapa region, there were 15 road crashes logged by the Wellington Transport Operations Centre. A third of these were on the Remutaka Hill corridor.”
Waka Kotahi is seeking submissions for consideration, alongside its analysis and conversations with partners, interested groups and organisations, as it works to finalise the Interim State Highway Speed Management Plan.
Improving safety over the Remutaka Hill between Upper Hutt and Featherston is a priority. This includes setting appropriate speed limits for the highway where it passes through the urban areas north of Upper Hutt and a lower speed limit over the Remutaka Hill. The proposals also include targeted speed changes to support planned safety improvements at dangerous intersections in Upper Hutt and Lower Hutt.
Here the focus is on setting appropriate speed limits for the Peka Peka to Ōtaki section of the Kāpiti Expressway and its new on- and off-ramps. There are also changes for the ‘old’ State Highway 1, which will be transferred to Kāpiti Coast District Council following the completion of the Mackays to Peka Peka and Peka Peka to Ōtaki sections of the Kāpiti Expressway.
You can find out more about the specific proposals for the Wellington/Wairarapa/Kāpiti region on the Waka Kotahi website:
Te Upoko o Te Ika – Greater Wellington – Speed Management Plan
Consultation closes at 5 pm, Monday, 12 December 2022.
