Controversial 30kmh speed zone expanding
Christchurch’s central city 30kmh zone is expanding.
The Christchurch City Council yesterday approved expanding the lowerspeed area to include St Asaph St (from Madras St to Hagley Ave) and Hagley Ave (from Selwyn St to Riccarton Ave).
The council also approved reducing sections of Oxford Tce and Antigua St around the hospital outpatients building to 10kmh.
The approval comes despite public feedback largely opposing the changes; almost two-thirds of the 737 submissions did not support St Asaph St’s limit being reduced.
Councillor Mike Davidson acknowledged the majority of submissions were opposed, but said they were only part of the decisionmaking process.
Reducing the speed limit on St Asaph St would not increase traffic time or congestion, and would reduce the percentage risk of death from 80 to 10 per cent for pedestrians hit by cars, he said.
Councillor Tim Scandrett asked what changes would be required if council decided not reduce the speed.
Council staff said more parking on the south side of St Asaph St may have to be removed to improve visibility for cars turning into driveways if the speeds were not reduced.
Councillor Vicki Buck asked at what speed most traffic was moving down St Asaph St, and was told by staff it was about 30kmh for most cars.
Several councillors mentioned the future opening of Ao Tawhiti Unlimited Discovery School and the metro sports facility, and the foot traffic this would bring to St Asaph St, as further reason to support the reduction. Signage changes for the reduced speed limit are expected to be installed by April, after which the limit could be enforced.
The council looked at reducing the speed on St Asaph St back in June 2016, but did not proceed because of negative feedback at the time. In 2017, the council decided to review this decision.
A $4.5 million overhaul of St Asaph St was completed in late 2016. The safety audit on the new layout recommended the street’s speed limit be lowered to 30kmh.
St Asaph St has been something of a battleground for the council. Local businesses have heavily criticised the road’s layout after it was upgraded as part of the central city An Accessible City plan, claiming the street is now too narrow and lacks on-street parking.
After a review of the works, including public consultation, the council decided to make only minor changes to the layout.
A 30kmh speed limit covering much of the central city came into affect in March 2016.
Glen Koorey, of transport consultancy ViaStrada, has compared crashes in the two years since this limit with the two years before, based on NZ Transport Agency data.
He found reported crashes that caused an injury had decreased by 25 per cent in the 30kmh zone. The same type of crashes had increased by 13.5 per cent in the parts of the CBD that were still at 50kmh.
In the two years since the 30kmh zone was brought in, traffic in the 30kmh increased by 5.4 per cent. The increase was 13 per cent in the rest of the CBD.