Napier-Taupo road speed-limit petition lands in Parliament

Signs of change, the State Highway 5 speed limit lowered in the Esk Valley northwest of Napier. Photo / Doug Laing

A petition calling for national highways management agency Waka Kotahi NZT to rescind the decision to lower the speed limit on 76km of the Napier-Taupo Highway has been placed before Parliament.

The petition of highway resident Kiri Goodspeed attracted 8188 online signatures, objecting particularly to the decision to make the change permanent, was one of five petitions referred to the Parliamentary Petitions Committee at the start of a Thursday-afternoon session.

The session, lasting just over three-quarters of an hour, was otherwise devoted to a prime ministerial statement recognising the return of the Parliament grounds and the service of police, fire, ambulance during the 23-day occupation and its end on Wednesday.

Goodspeed said she had been told the number who had supported the petition, which opened in mid-January, was a "good outcome" considering the shortish duration.

The State Highway 5 speed limit from Esk Valley to Rangitaiki Plains was lowered from 100km/h to 80km/h on February 18, as part of a Road to Zero strategy to cut the annual number of road fatalities nationwide by 40 per cent by 2030 and eliminate the toll by 2050.

While announced as permanent, an NZTA spokesperson has since said there will be a review after 12 months.

Opponents have questioned the veracity of criticising public consultation last year and claim a dearth of a factual basis or lack of social and economic impact for the decision, and suggest that, at the least, the limit should be no lower than 90km/h.

Similar reviews have taken place in other regions, with State Highway 2 between Napier and Wairoa expected to be a focus later this year, along with a proposal for the same highway through Wairarapa.

Meanwhile, Napier City Council, which lowered some speed limits on rural roads and in school zones in its own local review last year, will next week consider recommendations for more changes which were mooted during its review process.

A ratepayer proposal for lowering the speed limit from 100km/h on Willowbank Ave and others relating to three school zones will be considered at a council meeting next Thursday, having been through a bylaw hearing process in December and council committee stages.