Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Agency is undertaking two speed reviews in Hawke’s Bay. These are SH51 from Marine Parade to Waipatu and SH5 from Napier through to Taupō.
In April to June 2021 Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Agency consulted with the public on proposed speed changes on SH51 from Marine Parade to Waipatu.
This section has been chosen because the community has been calling for speeds to be lowered, and because it has a high crash risk, and we know lower speed limits save lives.
Our priority is to make this road safer so that everyone using it can get where they are going safely and reliably.
The following speed limits were proposed during consultation and have been set as the new permanent speed limits:
|
Location |
Current Speed Limit (km/h) |
New Permanent Speed Limit (km/h) (from 29 October 2021) |
|
Napier to Clive: |
100 |
80 |
|
Clive township (southern section): |
70 & 80 |
60 |
|
Waipatu/Hastings: |
70 |
60 |
The new permanent speed limits take effect from 29 October 2021.
The speed review process involves a number of steps that help determine the speed limit we propose at consultation. We complete a technical assessment that considers the road itself, the traffic volumes, the crash history, and the way people are currently travelling on the roads.
A review of average travel speeds shows people are typically driving below the existing speed limits.
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 80km/h, 60km/h, variable 60km/h were assessed to be the safe and appropriate speeds for this route.
Between 2010 – 2019, five people were killed and 28 seriously injured on the SH51 corridor between Marine Parade and Waipatu.
A small change in speed makes a big difference, speed increases both the likelihood of crashes and the severity of crash outcomes, regardless of what caused the crash. Lowering speed limits on the road will make it more forgiving of human error, so simple mistakes don’t cost lives.
The new permanent speed limits will have minimal impact on travel times. Over the nearly 16km route, the increase in travel time will be approximately under a minute.
Find out more about the SH51 Marine Parade to Waipatu permanent speed limits by reading the frequently asked questions.
Public consultation closed at 5pm on 6 June 2021.
Approximately 455 individual submissions were received during the consultation period from stakeholder organisations and the public. During this time the consultation and engagement was combined with SH5, 192 of these submissions can be applied to both corridors with general comments.
View our consultation summary and the submissions [PDF, 2.9 MB]
