Councillors at Ōtorohanga are questioning the value of new speed limit signs.
ŌTOROHANGA District councillors who spoke out against the proposed changes to speed limits outside schools have been voted down.
Councillors have adopted the final Draft Interim Speed Management Plan (DISMP) ready for presentation to the director of land transport for certification.
New speed warning signs required under the scheme outside urban and rural schools are expected to cost $145,000. This includes the supply and placement of 20 variable signs and 30 permanent speed signs.
Changes to the proposed roads of concern are estimated to cost $6500 to replace 36 permanent speed signs. Total cost for all permanent and variable sign changes is $ 151,500.00. No procurement will start until the plan is certified.
Councillor Rodney Dow did not support the plan. All schools in the area were already well sign- posted, he said.
“At the college, you can’t do the 50kmh speed limit to turn down Bledisloe Avenue anyway,” he said.
“I just think it is a waste of ratepayers’ money. I don’t support it at all. I’ve sent an email out to all the councillors.
“I just don’t see we are achieving the outcomes. The outcome, I’m assuming, is safety.” I think it is just spending money for the sake of spending money and I can’t see it achieving the result.
“If people can’t drive and see those signs and know there is a school and slow down, I can’t see the fact of changing the sign to a 40kmh sign is going to change the behaviour.”
Ōtorohanga Primary School was a classic example, he said.
A now-retired police officer used to sit outside the school about 8.15am on a school morning, slowing the people driving into town.
“I’m sure he had some success, or he wouldn’t have kept sitting there, but the police aren’t policing it now – so why are we spending in excess of $150,000 on something that is not going to be enforced. It’s just going to upset all the ratepayers and upset people. It’s certainly upset me.”
Councillor Katrina Christison noted the recommendation for St Mary’s School/Ōtorohanga College was to change the speed limit from 30kmh to variable.
“But in the speed management plan, it says speed limits need to be permanently lowered not variable? So, if we adopted this, then in another three years when it comes into legislation, we would have to spend more money again to change them to permanent. It confused me,” she said.
Katrina was referring to data about Arohena School, located on a 100kmh section of highway with the mean speed past the school being 42kmh. The proposal was to put in variable speed limit of 60/30kmh.
Similarly, Hauturu Primary School, also on a 100kmh section, had a recorded mean traffic speed past the school of 63kmh; a 60kmh limit was proposed.
Kawhia Primary School was accessed by two 50kmh roads where the mean speed of the traffic was 24 and 26kmh. The new speed limit would be 30kmh.
“What more can you do? They are slowing down now,” Katrina said. “An honest person is going to slow down. A dishonest person isn’t going to slow down even if it is 20kmh.”
Engineering and assets manager Mark Lewis said the council was looking at government legislation that had been passed down to local authorities to administer.
“So, the schools and marae are already part of that land speed rule, whatever it was in 2022. So, that’s been imposed on us to do. In saying that, it’s not an imposition that we wouldn’t support. And I think there’s real merit in lowering those speed limits around those more vulnerable areas,” he said.
“We’ve had to do certain things under this new piece of legislation and that is adopt a plan for March next year, but that’s one part we probably don’t have a lot of control over.
Katrina said: “I totally understand that, but in my head, the rural schools are still the more vulnerable ones. Our urban schools have pedestrian crossings that are monitored. Kids aren’t allowed to cross the road willy nilly at our schools. It doesn’t make sense to me.”
Mark thought the definition of vulnerable and the way it was being categorised was around foot traffic versus children using the bus stop or being dropped off.
.
