Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Agency has set permanent new speed limits on State Highway 16 from Brigham Creek to Waimauku.
We are committed to addressing safety concerns on State Highway 16 Brigham Creek to Waimauku as the area continues to grow. There’s been a high number of crashes on State Highway 16 between Brigham Creek and Waimauku, and locals have told us that speeds on the road feel too high to be safe. We want to make sure that speeds are safe and right for this road, and make our roads safer for everyone who uses them.
Speed increases both the likelihood of crashes and the severity of crashes when they happen. A small reduction in speed can make a big difference, especially when cyclists or pedestrians are involved. Most crashes are caused by a number of factors, but even when it’s not the cause of a crash, speed is most likely to determine whether anyone is killed, injured, or walks away unharmed.
While reviewing current speed limits is something we can do now to address safety concerns, we are also making State Highway 16 safer with improvements to the road that we will deliver in stages.
Find out more about the improvements
To help us fully understand the issues on the road, we have talked to iwi, the local community, and our road safety partners, to understand their views on speed limits along SH16 between Brigham Creek and Waimauku. We then publicly consulted on our proposed speed limit changes along this corridor in October and November 2019, and have used people’s feedback, alongside our technical reviews, to make our decision on safer speed limits.
The following speed limits were proposed during consultation and have been set as the new permanent speed limits.
The following new permanent speed limits will apply from Monday 7 September 2020:
| Location | Current speed limit | New speed limit from 7 September 2020 |
|
SH16 Kumeu and Huapai - from 50m south-east of Old Railway Road to 10m north-west of Station Road. |
60km/h | 50km/h |
|
SH16 Huapai - no change to speed limit from 10m north-west of Station Road to 260m north-west of Trigg Road. |
60km/h | No change |
|
SH16 Huapai to Waimauku - from 260m north-west of Trigg Road to 140m east of Wintour Road. |
100km/h | 80km/h |
|
SH16 Waimauku - from 140m east of Wintour Road to 95m east of Mabbett Lane. |
70km/h | 60km/h |
The speed review process involves numerous steps that help determine the speed limit we propose at consultation. We complete a technical assessment which takes into account the road itself, the traffic volumes, the crash history, and the way people are currently travelling on the roads. We engaged with road user groups, members of the public, councils, local iwi, AA and the police to provide further feedback and conclude the safe and appropriate speed limits. The speed limits of 50km/h, 60km/h and 80km/h were assessed to be the safe and appropriate speeds for the route.
Over the last 10 years (2009-2018), there were 449 crashes on this stretch of road with seven people killed and 57 seriously injured.
A review of average travel speeds shows people are typically driving at 50-54km/h between Kumeu and Huapai, 80-84km/h between Huapai and Waimauku, and 65-69km/h on the stretch of road through Waimauku. The new permanent speed limits will have minimal impact on travel times. Over the 7.74km route from Kumeu to Waimauku, the increase in travel time will be approximately 20 seconds.
Find out more about the SH16 Brigham Creek to Waimauku permanent speed limits by reading the frequently asked questions.
Public consultation closed on 26 November 2020 and we received 200 submissions from stakeholder organisations and the public.
More information about speed and the speed review process is available on the Speed Review Programme webpage.
