Petitions committee backs NZTA on Hawke's Bay's SH5 speeds call

Kiri Goodspeed, who petitioned Parliament seeking a reversal of an agency decision to lower speed limits on the highway between Napier and Taupō. Photo / NZME

A Parliamentary committee's rejection of a petition calling for a reversal of the decision to lower the speed on the Napier-Taupō highway is a "frustrating" blow for the campaigner who made the move.

Kiri Goodspeed, who lives near highway landmark Te Pōhue and is now one of seven people seeking election in Hastings District Council's new Takitimu Māori Ward, lodged the petition on March 3, a fortnight after national highways management agency Waka Kotahi NZTA dropped the limit from 100km/h to 80km/h as a safety measure on more than half the troubled stretch of State Highway 5.

Goodspeed says the petition's failure to budge the politicians highlights the lack of practical steps that interest groups, members of the public and even local authorities can take to challenge decisions even in the face of overwhelming opposition, such as that met by the speed decision.

The only other option at the time she lodged the petition was legal action and a form of application for judicial review, considered by the Regional Transport Committee and local authorities, and one Goodspeed says would have run into costs of tens-of-thousands of dollars "very quickly."

But since then, NZTA has, amid its 'Road to Zero' policy, said all connecting highways between regions should have an 80km/h limit unless they have a median strip, which would also hit large stretches of the 2000km of SH1 from North Cape to Bluff.

RTC chairman Martin Williams, a Napier lawyer, says the concept of legal action, for which he still believes there is legal ground, is on hold rather than "abandoned", but with the "problem" that if a High Court result went against NZTA, it could ultimately still make the same decision.

Regional leaders produced a position statement, saying they were "united in our deeply held concern that Waka Kotahi is literally putting the brakes on our regional economy, through its approach to speed management on the state highway network."

Goodspeed's petition asked Parliament to rescind its decision to permanently lower the speed limit on SH5, between Rangitaiki and Esk Valley. She believed NZTA consultation was inadequate and did not consider negative economic and social effects.

Describing it as "national policy by stealth," and challenging NZTA advertising campaigns as "wasteful", she wanted a debate in the House about the appropriate balance between measures to improve road safety and the social and economic costs of safety changes.

The integrity of the consultation has also been questioned by mayors and other community leaders, but NZTA told the committee an evaluation of the change is planned for March next year.

Although the scope was still being finalised, it would consider the safety, economic, and social implications, the committee report said.

Waka Kotahi also reaffirmed it would carry out a programme business case to "set out a long-term vision for SH5 and inform future improvements to address safety and resilience along the corridor".

The committee said Goodspeed's submissions explained "very effectively" the economic and social costs that could impact residents and workers in the areas affected by the reduced speed limit.

"Nevertheless, we support the emphasis on road safety embodied in the Road to Zero strategy," it said. "We look forward to learning about the results of the evaluation."