The townships of Pukenui and Houhora in the Far North District will have lower speed limits in place before Christmas as part of the NZ Transport Agency’s commitment on behalf of the Government to making roads and roadsides safer.
The NZ Transport Agency says the new speed limits will take effect from today (20 December), in two locations.
An 80km/h limit will be in place from south of Saleyard Avenue to just north of Harbour View Road. This is a reduction from the previous 100km/h speed limit. A 50km/h limit will be in place just north of Harbour View Road to south of Harbour View Road, a reduction from 80km/h previously.
The communities of Pukenui and Houhora have been concerned that legal speed limits through the townships were too high and created a road safety risk for local road users, particularly pedestrians and those who lived on these sections of State Highway 1,” says the Transport Agency’s System Design Manager, Brett Gliddon.
182 submissions were received in total with the majority supporting the proposals along with a Transport Agency safety review which showed the reduced speed limit would make the road safer.
“We are grateful to the many people who’ve given us feedback as this demonstrates the lower speed limits will clearly be welcomed by the communities of Pukenui and Houhora and will contribute to safer journeys on these sections of State Highway 1.”
The Transport Agency uses a Safe System approach to road safety, which maintains that while some mistakes on the road are inevitable, deaths and serious injuries are not.
“Reducing speed limits and making the road and roadside more forgiving of human error reduces the risk of crashes happening and limit their severity when they do,” say Mr Gliddon.
