Plan to increase speed limit between Nelson, Blenheim

The main route between Nelson and Blenheim could soon return to 100km/h under a Government proposal to change the way speeds are set.

Last week, the Government opened a consultation on its draft land transport rule, which aims to end across-the-board reductions in speed limits.

“The previous government’s untargeted approach slowed down Kiwis and the economy, rather than targeting high-crash areas of the network,” Transport Minister Simeon Brown said in a statement.

The proposal would reverse speed changes made from 1 January 2020 on local streets with widespread 30km/h speeds around schools, urban link roads and rural state highways.

This could mean 100km/h limits could return on sections of State Highway 6 between Wakefield and Hope and between Nelson and Blenheim.

If Waka Kotahi can demonstrate public support for the reduction in some sections, such as hilly or windy areas, the lower speed limit may be retained in those locations.

However, the agencies should undertake new consultation on the changes in accordance with the additional requirements contained in the draft rule.

The highway between Blenheim and Nelson was classed as a high risk rural highway before the speed was reduced.

In the ten years between 2009 and 2018, 20 people died and 92 were seriously injured. Of these, 19 of the deaths and 87 of the serious injuries occurred in areas with a speed limit of 100 km/h.

The route has seen a 93% reduction in fatal and serious crashes since the cuts were introduced.

During the same period, there were 98 accidents on the Wakefield to Hope section, with three people killed and 18 seriously injured.

Tasman Deputy Mayor Stuart Bryant, chair of Nelson Tasman’s transport committee, said the impact of the changes on the region’s speed management plan was not yet known, “but at first glance the draft rule would appear to make it more difficult and more expensive to change speed limits”.

The draft rule would introduce a mandatory speed limit program for each type of road, while councils would have to carry out cost-benefit analyzes of speed changes for each affected road, adopt variable rather than fixed speeds in outside schools and meet ministerial objectives.

The two councils in the region are currently in the process of creating a speed management plan, which was consulted on over the summer.

Although the government’s guidance was opposed to general speed reductions, Bryant said the committee would seek lower speeds where specifically requested by residents.

“Our community has given strong feedback that they want to see some changes, particularly around the schools, and we would like to progress them if possible.”

Otherwise, the changes currently proposed by the Government do not appear to affect local roads controlled by either council.

The Tasman District Council said no local roads would be affected by the draft rule, with recent changes such as the reduced speed limit outside Motueka Steiner School on Robinson Road already included in the proposal.

This situation is mirrored in Nelson City.

Although the city center has been reduced from 50km/h to 30km/h in 2020 and could be classed as a general reduction, the roads affected are not of the type specified by the Government as needing to be reversed.

“There is a risk that this could change once the rule is changed by central government from draft to final, but at present we are confident that these changes will remain in place,” said David Light, acting group manager of infrastructure of the municipal council.

“However, the board may find it more difficult to make similar changes in the future under the draft rule.”

Light added that bringing back speed limits would be relatively simple and cheap, unless a consultation was required, which would be “more time consuming and more expensive for the ratepayer”.

By Max Frethey
Local Democracy Reporter

Local Democracy Reporting is local journalism, co-funded by RNZ and NZ On Air