Time running out to comment on speed plan

Western Bay of Plenty District Council is consulting on its draft speed management plan.

Consultation on Western Bay of Plenty District Council’s draft speed management plan is open for one more week.

Western Bay’s draft Speed Management Plan includes:

■ A focus on safer speeds around schools, including a variable speed limit of 30km/h at the drop-off and pick-up times and 50km/h at other times for urban schools and 60km/h for rural schools.

■ Maintaining a 50km/h speed limit in urban areas with the exception of schools, marae, town centres and community identified areas.

■ A proposal for an 80km/h speed limit in rural areas with the exception of schools, marae and community identified areas.

■ A proposal for town centres in Te Puke and Ōmokoroa to have a speed limit of 40km/h. Waihī Beach already has this speed limit and as Katikati’s main road is a state highway, Waka Kotahi has proposed a 40km/h speed limit which the council fully supports.

■ Prioritising areas with the highest need first in the next three years; including schools, Māori communities, town centres, identified rural roads and community identified roads.

A range of criteria were used to determine appropriate speed limits for our local roads, including the safe speeds identified by Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Agency, along with community feedback and local knowledge - through the Your Place Tō Wāhi consultation earlier this year, and ongoing consultation with schools, Māori communities and community boards.

Western Bay of Plenty Mayor James Denyer says there has been a great response to the survey so far with plenty of people sharing valuable feedback.

“We value your feedback to help us make the best decisions for our community. There’s still time to have your say and I encourage you to join the kōrero to help make sure we’ve got the settings right for our speed limits to improve safety and maintain efficiency,” he says.

“As a council, we want to balance Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Agency’s recommendations for significantly lower speed limits with a pragmatic approach that achieves community buy-in. We want to improve safety on our roads, whilst not excessively hindering their primary purpose, which is to move people and goods around efficiently.”

Consultation is open until 5pm on November 23.