This is a result of the Speed Management Plan that was approved by Council and New Zealand Transport Agency / Waka Kotahi in early 2024.
The first stage of this plan prioritises the safety and wellbeing of community members by targeting schools, indicated by public feedback and conducted research while maintaining travel journey efficiency.
By implementing these changes, we aim to enhance road safety and create streets where people feel safe to walk, ride, drive and cycle.
Key Focus Area
The initial key focus is to reduce the speed limits near schools by introducing a 30km/h permanent speed limit for schools throughout the district.
Research shows that speed limits in school zones are most effective between 300-500m long. Drivers tend to slow down if the zone is between these lengths, we took this into consideration when developing the speed limit zones.
Speed limit signage will be in place for these areas.
These speed reductions are crucial for our community; research undertaken within New Zealand and Australia shows that if a person walking is hit by a car travelling at 50km/h, the chance of survival is 20%, compared to if a person is hit by a car travelling at 30km/h, the chance of survival increases to 90%.
