Councillors back speed limit drop on crash-prone road
The Stratford District Council is making moves to drop the speed limit on one of its most dangerous roads – but by less than transport bosses recommend.
Opunake Rd, which runs east to west along the southern side of Taranaki Maunga, has seen 57 crashes in the past five years. Three of the crashes proved fatal, with 11 classed as serious.
Stratford district councillors said this week they would like to drop the speed limit from 100 kilometres per hour to 80kmh and spend more than $3 million on safety over the next 10 years.
However, Waka Kotahi, the NZ Transport Agency, recommended cutting the speed limit to 60kmh or spending $5.3m on improvements over a decade, council roading asset manager Steve Bowden said. The community would help make the final call, he said.
At a council policy and services committee meeting earlier on Tuesday, Bowden asked councillors what they thought of reducing the speed limit.
‘‘We all know Opunake Rd has got a serious crash history,’’ Bowden said.
‘‘This is the next step in the journey.’’
Opunake Rd is nearly 30 kilometres in length, narrow in places and full of bends, dips and shaded patches that become icy in winter and spring.
It is used by 2000 cars a day and runs across the Stratford and South Taranaki districts. Both councils would try working together with the speed limit change, Bowden said.
‘‘I’m not saying crashes are going to disappear,’’ he said. ‘‘At 80kmh the crash is a bit more survivable than a 110kmh crash.’’
Deputy mayor Alan Jamieson questioned whether dropping the speed limit made the road safer, and suggested work should be done on the road first.
Councillor Grant Boyde said he agreed with Jamieson about working on the road, but said he did not ‘‘see a real big issue’’ with the speed limit drop.
Councillor Rick Coplestone said he ‘‘fully’’ supported the change.
‘‘I’m a believer in the 80kmh,’’ Coplestone said. ‘‘I wasn’t to start with, but there’s a lot of work that has to be done on that road.’’
Mayor Neil Volzke said changing the speed limit was a quick, cheap and effective way of making a change.
‘‘If we were able to do something to change that by even a small amount, that would be good,’’ Volzke said.
He said he did not think the community would agree to 60kmh. ‘‘80kmh is a good compromise.’’
The decision must first be approved at one more meeting, made up of the same councillors, before it goes out for public consultation.