Atawhai speed cut delayed

The speed limit on a dangerous stretch of State Highway 6 through Atawhai is still potentially years away, frustrating city councillors, who say the delay is ‘‘ridiculous’’.

The Nelson City Council asked the NZ Transport Authority (NZTA) last year to investigate reducing the limit from 100kmh to 80kmh on the busy highway between Haven Rd and Todd Bush Rd.

NZTA representative and strategic planner Steve Higgs updated the regional transport committee on Monday on the request. He said speed reductions to SH6 were included in a larger project, the Blenheim to Nelson safety improvement plan, and would be looked at as part of that project.

He said a ‘‘comprehensive speed management programme’’ would be rolled out nationally over the next three years, including Nelson in 2020-21.

Higgs said any interim measure to reduce speed would not necessarily be quicker than waiting for the national programme or the Blenheim to Nelson plan, as speed limit changes needed to go through a rigorous process and be signed off by the chair of the NZTA.

‘‘Safety is a key focus for the NZTA for the next three years, and of course you all know that the number of deaths and serious injuries is heading in the wrong direction, so there’s a lot of work that needs to be doing.’’

He said the NZTA had nationally recognised three areas as being the highest risk: Auckland, Waikato and Canterbury.

Councillors expressed frustration at the delay, which committee chair Mike Rutledge said was ‘‘bureaucratic’’.

Some Atawhai residents have been campaigning for the speed to be reduced on that stretch of the highway for years.

Councillor Gaile Noonan said the delay was ‘‘ridiculous’’.

‘‘We had two deaths last week in our area,’’ she said. ‘‘I can’t understand why we can’t have a trial. I am very concerned about this . . . can we not do something at pace?’’

Cr Paul Matheson said it had been an issue for a long time.

‘‘How many times do we have to go to you guys and highlight the problem of speed? We have been asking for a long, long time . . . We’ve got the statistics to say its a lousy piece of road and it does unfortunately claim lives.’’

Nelson Mayor Rachel Reese floated the idea of a member’s bill, saying the matter was ‘‘urgent’’.

‘‘The really sad thing around this ... is the more people die on the road, the more likely you are to get money. After going to a funeral last week, it really upsets me,’’ she said.

‘‘I don’t know what we’re going to do here. It doesn’t sound like NZTA has the tools to support us. We need to find . . . some kind of estuary improvements all the way along so we can put in some temporary speed reductions.

‘‘I’m going to try really hard to think about what we can do. State highway owners [NZTA], you’re going to have to bear with us, because we’ve got to do something.’’

‘‘How many times do we have to go [NZTA] and highlight the problem? . . . We’ve got the statistics.’’ Nelson city councillor Paul Matheson