Work is underway to set safe speed limits on newly created roads and roads that have been reconfigured as part of the Mackays to Peka Peka Expressway project.
The NZ Transport Agency, together with the Mackays to Peka Peka Alliance, is working with the Kāpiti Coast District Council to ensure the district’s roading network operates safely and efficiently once the expressway opens to traffic.
NZ Transport Agency Highway Manager Neil Walker says the expressway will change how people move around the Kāpiti Coast and it is expected that traffic patterns and volumes will change on local roads.
“We are proposing to set safe speed limits that are appropriate for the environment and minimise harm on the roads that were newly created as part of the expressway project.
“At the same time we are proposing to adjust speed limits on reconfigured roads and roads where temporary speed limits are currently in place to protect road users from risks associated with increased construction traffic,” Mr Walker says.
Over the next six weeks the Transport Agency, through the Mackays to Peka Peka Alliance, is inviting the Kāpiti Coast community to express their views on safe speed limits for Nga Manu Reserve Road and Maurice Smith Way in Waikanae; Hadfield Link Road, Peka Peka Link Road, Te Kowhai Link Road and a section of the existing State Highway 1 in Peka Peka; a section of Poplar Avenue in Raumati South; Ratanui Road and Otaihanga Road in Otaihanga; and Emerald Glen Road and Waterfall Road near Mackays Crossing.
“We acknowledge that the Kāpiti Coast community know the local roads and how people use them so it’s important to us that we hear their thoughts on what they think the safe speed limits should be,” Mr Walker says.
Kāpiti residents and interested parties can find out more about the proposed changes and how they can provide feedback on the Transport Agency’s website at www.nzta.govt.nz/m2pp-safe-speeds(external link). Feedback closes on 31 January 2017.
“We’re encouraging local residents, particularly those living near these roads, to read this information in detail, consider what’s being proposed, and provide their feedback. One option to give feedback on the proposed safe speed limits is to complete an online survey(external link),” Mr Walker says.
The Mackays to Peka Peka Expressway is a $630 million project to build 18 km of four-lane Expressway along the Kāpiti Coast. The expressway is a section of the Wellington Northern Corridor, one of the Government’s roads of national significance. It is a critical link to the lower North Island and key regional destinations. The Expressway is being delivered by the Mackays to Peka Peka Alliance, which is made up of the NZ Transport Agency, the Fletcher Construction Company Ltd, Beca Ltd and Higgins Contractors Ltd.
