Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Agency is consulting on proposed safer speed limits through Longburn village and between Longburn and Palmerston North and we want to people to have their say.
Waka Kotahi Central North Island Director of Regional Relationships, Linda Stewart, says during community engagement last year, it became clear people felt the current speeds through Longburn village and through to Palmerston North are too high.
The current speed limit through Longburn is 70km/h and it is 100km/h from northeast of Longburn to Palmerston North.
“The feedback we have received from the community and stakeholders so far has been incredibly valuable, and has helped shaped the proposed speeds,” says Ms Stewart.
“The proposed changes would see a new 50km/h speed limit in Longburn and 80km/h through to Palmerston North.
“We want to make SH56 safer for everyone who uses it. Most crashes are caused by a number of factors, but even when speed is not the cause of a crash, it most likely determines the severity of injury, or whether people are tragically killed,” says Ms Stewart.
Palmerston North City Council Chief Planning Officer David Murphy welcomes the review given the planned growth and housing development for this part of the city in future.
“We look forward to participating in this process. We’ll also be consulting soon on other changes to speed limits in the city and we would encourage everyone to have their say on those proposals too.”
The formal consultation period runs from 24 July to 21 August 2023.
Feedback on the proposal will then be considered alongside existing information such as technical assessments, before any changes are made.
More information on the proposals and provide feedback:
SH56 Longburn village and Longburn to Palmerston North speed review(external link)
