Safe and appropriate speeds outside local schools are the drivers behind a Wairoa District Council Interim Speed Management Plan.

Council is proposing to reduce speeds in high pedestrian areas and key locations outside schools and along Marine Parade. The plan aims to adopt safe and appropriate speeds outside schools to enhance the safety of vulnerable users, most notably tamariki, in their travels to and from school.

Improving road safety was a focus of the Council’s Land Transport Activity Management Plan for 2021-24 in response to a poor road safety record for the Wairoa district.

Council is now seeking feedback on the proposed speed changes, with submissions closing on July 3 and the hearing of submissions and deliberations planned for July 18, 2023.

The plan takes in town and district-wide schools and will prioritise Marine Parade along with St Joseph’s and Wairoa Primary schools in town and Te Mahia, Nuhaka, and Ruakituri schools.

The remaining schools must have speed reductions in place by July 2027, with Frasertown, Mohaka, Putere and Ohuka and Tiaho schools, Wairoa College and Te Kura Kaupapa Maori o Ngati Kahungunu o Te Wairoa identified.

The proposal includes reducing speeds around these schools from 100km and 50km down to 60km and 30km. It will involve static and electronic speed signs, raised pedestrian crossings and additional markings.

Specific funding for safety improvements outside schools has been set aside, and the plan will also form part of the new ‘Land Transport Rule: Setting of Speed Limits 2022’, which requires road controlling authorities to reduce speed limits outside 40% of the schools in its district by July 2024. 

The Interim Speed Management Plan is the beginning of a more comprehensive speed management review that will be undertaken later in the year. The interim plan initially focuses on roads within the immediate vicinity of the schools, with adjacent areas being considered as part of the entire speed management plan to be completed in 2023/24. The full speed management plan will include Kōhanga Reo, Early Childhood Education centres, marae, and other community facilities.

Before making any final decisions, Council would like to have your input. Please submit:

• Online: www.wairoadc.govt.nz search Interim Speed Management.

• By post: Interim Speed Management Plan, c/o Wairoa District Council Governance Team, 97 Queen Street Wairoa.

• By emailing: feedback@wairoadc.govt.nz

• Or deliver your submission in person to the Wairoa District Office, Coronation Square, Wairoa.

For more information go to Council’s website: https://www.consultations.nz/wdc/interim-speed-management/

29 June 2023

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