‘Ridiculous’ speed restrictions will soon be gone, writes MP

Blanket speed restrictions are bad for the economy and do not target the problem areas, says Tim Costley.

OPINION

By Tim Costley, MP for Ōtaki

I hope you all enjoyed some amazing weather and time with family over Easter. I certainly did, in between a few public events. I’m spending this week in the electorate, with events ranging from the Electra Business Breakfast in Kāpiti (always a great way to start the day) to visiting St Vincent de Paul in Levin.

Last week you may have seen that Minister of Tourism and Hospitality Matt Doocey announced a new $5 million regional events promotion fund to help attract more visitors to the regions. The Regional Events Promotion Fund (REP) is available to regional tourism organisations and councils outside of the main centres to help promote events to domestic visitors. I have written to both of our local mayors and councils with extra details, encouraging them to apply for some of the great events we have here in Horowhenua.

I’ve had the privilege of seeing other regions of New Zealand in this role, and it is never lost on me that right here in Horowhenua we are sitting on a gold mine. There are very few regions with both great beaches and rugged hills. Levin might be considered a smaller town, but we host some amazing events from the AP&I Show to the Medieval Market, Fale Pasifika and, of course, the Taste Trail. We need to spread the word, attract more visitors, grow regional tourism and, in turn, our local economy. I’ll be working hard to make sure we do.

The next challenge is getting people here safely: we need a new road! Our new national roads, like Transmission Gully, play a key part in opening up our region, whether for day trips for Wellingtonians or cruise ship visitors, or connecting tourists from around New Zealand and across the world.

Hopefully, you saw a fantastic recent announcement from Transport Minister Simeon Brown on the next steps in reversing the previous Government’s blanket speed reductions on state highways. We will be introducing a new Land Transport Rule to be signed by the end of 2024. Our move will ensure that when speed limits are set, the economic impacts – including travel times – and the views of road users and local communities are taken into account.

The ridiculous blanket speed limits were widely unpopular and the wrong tool that wasn’t targeted at where the actual risk lay. The Labour rule saw some councils proposing 30km/h limits on almost every single street. This isn’t where people are tragically losing their lives (like the 10 we sadly saw over Easter). I believe we should target the actual risk, not use blunt tools like this which ultimately just slow down our community and our economy.

If it is safe to do so, we will require blanket speed limit reductions to be reversed by the end of 2025, but on a road like Ōtaki to Levin, the solution is to build a fast and safe alternative with four lanes, not tinker around the edges. That is exactly what we’ll do.

I’m optimistic about a bright future for our region, and I’ll be working hard to make sure we get it.