Gisborne retains lower speed limit after public consultation

Sections of the State Highway 35 from Wainui Rd, Tamarau, and Moana Rd, Okitū, will retain lower speed limits following majority support in public consultation. (Photo insert): About 70 residents gathered at the Pines bus stop in March to show their opposition to the speed-limit reversals.

Two sections of Gisborne’s State Highway 35 will retain lower limits after receiving support from community consultation.

A local resident, who led a petition to lower the speed limit in 2019, says she is “relieved” and “grateful” for the result.

A Government rule change required speed limit reversals on some local roads and highways by July 1.

Under the rule, sections of the highway from Wainui Rd, Tamarau, and Moana Rd/Okitū, were set to automatically revert to previous higher speeds, which had been lowered since January 1, 2020.

Gisborne residents called the move “a slap in the face” after community efforts to lower the speed limits.

Following feedback, New Zealand Transport Agency decided to undertake speed reviews on 16 of 38 sections of state highway across the country.

National East Coast MP Dana Kirkpatrick congratulated the Wainui and Okitu communities on their work, which led to consultation being held on the speed changes.

Resident Veronika Lambert, who started a petition in 2019 which was signed by 1247 people and resulted in the lower speed limits, said locals were “relieved to keep the safer speed limit”.

“[I’m] grateful to live in a society where communities can change things for the better, or keep them in this case.”

A total of 1212 submissions were received on the proposed changes across the two stretches of Gisborne’s SH35.

During consultation from April 2 to May 14, over 70% of respondents believed maintaining lower speeds would have more positive impacts, noting cycle and pedestrian safety on both stretches of road.

Additionally, concerns were raised that drivers might exceed the increased limits, leading to overall higher speeds.

According to the consultation report, the Okitū section of the road received 635 submissions. From southwest of Wairere Rd to north Sirrah St, the road was scheduled to have its speed limit increased from 60km to 70km.

Seventy-four per cent of respondents wanted to retain the current speed as it would be “more appropriate and safer for local school children travelling through the area and people crossing the road to access the beach”.

For the Tamarau section, east of Wheatstone Rd to about 20m northwest of Coldstream Rd, 575 submissions were received.

Seventy-one per cent wanted to retain the speed of 60km/h, which would have reverted to 70km/h and 80km/h in parts.

“People noted it would reduce the occurrence and severity of crashes and make it safer and easier to access the cycleway and better protect school children, including those using the bus,” the report says.

Lambert said there was disappointment that the speed limit on the stretch of highway from Makorori to Pouawa would be reversed from 80km/h to its previous higher speed of 100km/h.

“We know how hard they fought for years for a lower speed and how devastated they are with that outcome, so we have mixed feelings – disappointment on one hand and great relief on the other,” she said.

NZTA ran a consultation on this section of the highway from January 30 to March 13 and 53% “strongly opposed” retaining the current limit.

At the time, NZTA director of regional relationships Linda Stewart said they had to measure levels of public support and no greater weighting was able to be assigned to different types of road users.