SH7 limit changes

After the Kaikoura–Hurunui Earthquakes, speed limits along the length of the alternate route between Picton and Christchurch were altered and some could become permanent.

But are road users really adjusting to the change?

Marlborough highway patrol team leader Sergeant Barrie Greenall said drivers need to use the road as it was now, not as they remembered it.

‘‘Many people were driving through areas where they were used to driving at one speed for decades ... That’s the difference between driving the road you know and the road you see.’’

Greenall said he had called on his officers to consider the circumstances of each motorist they pulled over before issuing tickets. Speed limits needed to reflect the environment drivers were in and there were many different variables to consider.

‘‘I would ask officers to use discretion, but if the limit has been changed by 10km and they are going 30km over the limit, hold on, that’s just bad driving.

‘‘We tried to keep a happy medium between ensuring the safety of those using the route and ensuring the efficiency of the route to keep the South Island ticking along as usual.’’

After the initial 90 day period of altered speed limits, the New Zealand Transport Agency (NZTA) revised some of the changes to reflect feedback from police, the public and other stakeholders.

The limit at the intersection of SH1 and SH7 at Waipara was raised from 60km/h to 80km/h to match ‘‘road users’ expectations of the safe speed to be travelling on the highway environment’’, the NZTA said. The limit from from Marble Point near the Glenallan Stream Bridge to 1.5 km past the Hanmer Springs turnoff was lowered from 100km/h to 80km/h.

Consultation would begin next week on a bylaw to make the temporary limits permanent at the end of the second 90 day period.

NZTA regional relationships director Jim Harland said they would be seeking feedback on the proposed bylaw from councils, stakeholders, road user groups and local communities.

While the proposed speed limits would be permanent if implemented, the NZTA would continue to monitor the route once SH1 was restored, and if required, review speed limits again.

‘‘Our road safety engineers have fully reviewed speed limits on the route in recent months to ensure the proposed permanent limits we are consulting on are appropriate for road users and the communities living along it. These will be similar to the current emergency speed limits now in place,’’ Harland said.

He said the lower speed limits were brought in to manage the risks associated with the significant increase in traffic using the alternate route while SH1 remained closed.

‘‘As emergency speed limits can only legally be in place for six months, and SH1 will not be fully restored until the end of the year, in order to keep the lower speed limits in place to maintain safety on the alternate route the law requires that these lower limits now be made permanent.’’