100km/h speeds past Ngātīmoti School have been an issue for residents for at least a decade. Photo: Supplied / Patrick Shortley
Small communities around Tasman are itching to finally see the speed limit reductions that a government rule delayed.
Tasman District Council is currently re-consulting on changes that would primarily lower the speed limits on high-risk rural roads and around several rural schools.
The proposed speeds are largely in line with a suite of reductions that were adopted by the council last year before they were invalidated by then-Transport Minister Simeon Brown's new rule for setting speed limits.
Ngātīmoti
Lower speeds have been sought in the rural village of Ngātīmoti for more than a decade and some residents are becoming increasingly frustrated with the delays.
The Motueka Valley Highway currently runs through the village at 100km/h, passing the local primary school and other community facilities like the hall, swimming holes, and dozens of driveways.
The council wants to lower speeds on the high-risk road to 60km/h through the village while the rest of the highway would be brought to 80km/h.
Motueka Valley Association member Patrick Shortley, who supported the reductions, said the current speed limit was "very dangerous" because road visibility was poor.
"It's a bit of a nightmare," he said. "There's constantly a parade of people crossing that highway."
Speeds were poised to reduce on Monday 27 January, but the updated government rule which mandated the council re-consult residents pushed the changes out to the third quarter of 2025, and Shortley was "actually quite angry" about the additional delay.
Though he was frustrated with the government's rule which was "unsympathetic" to the desires of local communities, he blamed council staff for the lack of results after years of requests.
"It's clearly in the best interests of Ngātīmoti ratepayers that their kids don't get killed on the road."
The council said a demanding workload on its small transport planning team and staffing changes were why no speed limit reductions had yet been made.
In earlier rounds of consultation, 91 percent of submitters who mentioned the Motueka Valley Highway wanted lower speeds around Ngātīmoti.
Upper Moutere
The Moutere Highway and adjoining Neudorf Road are both also classed as high-risk and would drop from 100km/h to 80km/h.
Moutere Hills Residents Association chair Nathan Silcock said those changes were a "no-brainer".
Moutere Hills Residents Association chair Nathan Silcock described the need to re-consult as “a waste of time and money”. Photo: Supplied / Max Frethey via LDR
Like the Motueka Valley Highway, the changes were meant to be made on 27 January but have been pushed out several months.
Silcock called the "unnecessary" delay "hugely frustrating".
"Sooner is always better," he said. "It's just a waste of time and money."
The association was supportive of lowering the speeds on the highway to 80km/h, but it wanted the council to also lower the limit through the Upper Moutere village to 40km/h, which Silcock said was "a heck of a lot better" than the current 50km/h limit.
However, the speed limit specifications outlined in the government's rule are unlikely to allow reducing the speed any further.
Silcock acknowledged that the current rule might frustrate that request but he wondered whether the new Transport Minister, Chris Bishop, might be more flexible than his predecessor.
Prior consultation shows that 93 percent and 91 percent of submitters who respectively mentioned the Moutere Highway and Neudorf Road wanted speeds reduced.
Tasman village
Several changes were proposed for Tasman village.
Aporo Road between the Coastal Highway/State Highway 60 and Kina Beach Road was proposed to drop from 60km/h to 50km/h, and the section from Kina Beach Road to Williams Road past Tasman Christian School would drop from 80km/h to 60km/h.
Dicker and Goddard Roads would also lower from 50km/h to 40km/h while Rush Lane would drop from 100km/h to 50km/h.
Tasman Area Community Association member Steve Richards said residents were generally supportive of lowering speeds around the village, but he thought the current proposal was too confusing.
Tasman Area Community Assocation member Steve Richards said the proposal for Tasman village was too inconsistent. Photo: Supplied / Gordon Preece - Guardian Motueka via LDR
"Having three speed limits through the village isn't sensible, and it's not easy to adhere to. So just have one low speed limit around the village - that makes sense."
He personally thought the 50km/h zone should be extended down Aporo Road to include the school while all side roads in the village centre should be lowered to 30km/h to make it safer for pedestrians because of the lack of footpaths.
Richards also found the government-imposed need to re-consult "tedious", especially since the village had pushing for lower speeds since the state highway was shifted off Aporo Road and onto the Ruby Bay Bypass when it opened in 2010.
"It really shouldn't have much to do with the government, it should be about people who live there."
Collingwood
Outgoing Collingwood Area School principal Hugh Gully said he was "delighted" with the proposed changes around the school which would see several 100km/h speed limits fall.
Excellent Street and the southern half of Orion Street are proposed to lower to 60km/h while the rest of Orion Street, Lewis Street, and Washington Street east of Lewis would all drop to 40km/h.
"In a number of those streets, there are no footpaths... and, of course, we want kids to be walking and biking to school," he said. "The safety of the kids comes first."
The changes around the school were also meant to be implemented on 27 January and have been delayed several months as well.
Speed hasn't been a historic concern in the area, but a nearby housing development has increased the amount of traffic and children in the area, making vehicle speeds a "growing issue" and so Gully thought lowering the speed limits now made "perfect sense".
Other changes
Edwards Road in Lower Moutere and Dovedale Road are both also classed as high-risk roads were proposed to drop from 100km/h to 80km/h.
Main Road Lower Moutere and Queen Victoria Road would lower to 60km/h, while the 30km/h zone in Wakefield was proposed to be extended further up Edward Street.
Paton Road in Hope would drop from 80km/h to 60km/h, while Richmond's McShane Road would drop further to 50km/h to reflect the new urban nature of the area.
Several other tweaks to adjoining and nearby roads were also proposed.
Not included in the council's current round of consultation were variable 30km/h speed limits around schools which must be implemented under the government's rule.
Further reductions for rural residential roads, urban roads with no footpaths, winding and narrow unsealed roads, and other specific roads will be consulted on later in the year.
Submissions close on 2 March.
LDR is local body journalism co-funded by RNZ and NZ On Air.
