Council races ahead with lower speeds
Council officials are forging ahead with 30kph and 40kph speed signs across Christchurch while they wait for further direction from the Government on future speed limit rules.
In late February the council began putting lower speed signs in Linwood, Phillipstown, Woolston and Bromley. Most were 30kph, some 40kph, and main roads in those neighbourhoods remained unchanged.
Lower speed signs were also recently put up in parts of Opawa, Somerfield, Sydenham, Beckenham, Waltham and Spreydon.
While Transport Minister Simeon Brown prefers variable speed limits outside schools at drop-off and pick-up times, the council says doing that for the city’s 145 schools would come at “significant” cost – about $40,000 each, totalling more than $5 million.
The new Government promised to reverse blanket speed limit reductions “where it is safe to do so”. .
In December Brown encouraged councils to “stop work” on speed management plans until the new speed rule was in place, so they did not waste public money on changes “that would likely need revisiting”.
However, the council says the lower speed signs going in now were certified by NZ Transport Agency-Waka Kotahi last year and therefore can proceed.
The promised rule change would apply to future and uncertified lower speed zones, the council’s head of transport Lynette Ellis said.
While in Christchurch earlier this month, Coalition partner and ACT leader David Seymour said “perhaps they [the council] should have waited” for the new rules, citing the coalition agreement, and suggested some lower speed signs may need to come out.
The ACT-National Party coalition agreement states the parties will reverse speed limit reductions “where it is safe to do so”; and the Government’s 100-day plan promised to “stop blanket speed limit reductions”.
Christchurch councillor Tim Scandrett said he would be “mortified” if the signs were removed because “there’s no question that it’s a positive”.
He thought 80% of Christchurch residents liked lower speeds. Opponents should visit the families of children hit by cars, he said. “Even if one child is crossing and it is dangerous … then we’ve got to do something to change it,” he said.
Road speeds were lowered in Auckland in June 2020 and, over the next 18 months, there was a 47% reduction in deaths, 25% reduction in crashes and a 15% reduction in serious crashes. Larger reductions were observed in Melbourne when speeds were lowered there.
Cr Andrei Moore said it was important to have residents’ buy-in on lower speeds. He said most residents agreed with reducing speeds around schools, but changes elsewhere were not as well received.
The council and the previous Government have said children use school facilities such as sport fields and playgrounds outside of school hours and need permanent protection from cars. There are 145 schools within Christchurch, nine of which already have electronic variable signs.
A school would typically need two electronic variable speed signs and some static signs, and the cost would be about $40,000 to buy and install them, Ellis said. The cost of making all schools variable would need to be approved in future annual plans, she added.
Meanwhile, this week Selwyn district councillors approved an “interim” speed management plan that will put variable 30kph speed limits around schools during peak times, and reduce approaching speeds to dangerous intersections.
The council put its full speed management plan on ice pending further direction from the minister on speed limit rules, but the council decided safety at these “critical locations” could not not wait. Their plan will go to NZTA for approval, with the aim of rolling out the changes from the end of June.
The Government’s new safety strategy will be released later in the year.