Surge of road sign vandalism costing Far North ratepayers tens of thousands

An earlier spate of sign damage in the Far North followed a lowering of speed limits between Kerikeri and Ōkaihau in 2021.

By Peter de Graaf - RNZ

Far North ratepayers are being stung for repairs costing tens of thousands of dollars after a surge in road sign vandalism.

The latest wave appears to be connected to new speed limits rolled out in the Bay of Islands since August.

Far North District Council head of infrastructure strategy Tanya Proctor said every change to speed limits around the district had been accompanied by a spike in vandalism.

The destruction was not limited to speed limit signs but included large road safety signs warning drivers of bends ahead, one-way bridges, stop and give way signs, and even road name signs.

Proctor said it cost ratepayers about $2600 to replace or repair the larger signs and about $750 for each speed limit sign.

The vandalism endangered other road users and did not change the legal requirement to obey road rules.

“If you feel that strongly about the issue, tell us what you think during consultations. We ask every affected community for their views before decisions are made. We’re running one right now for our review of Russell-Kororāreka speed limits,” she said.

New speed limits had been rolled out in stages across the Far North, with roads around Kāeo, Waipapa, Waimate North and Ōkaihau the first to get the treatment in 2019.

A ute passes a pair of flattened speed limit signs about midway between Kerikeri and Okaihau.

That was followed by roads around Kaitāia-Awaroa and Broadwood-Kohukohu in 2021, and most recently by the Bay of Islands-Whangaroa area.

Proctor said the speed limits had been changed only after extensive public consultation with affected communities.

The vandalism almost always occurred on rural roads at night, making it hard to identify those responsible.

The cost of the latest surge of road sign damage is not yet known but likely to be in the tens of thousands of dollars.

In 2020-21, it cost ratepayers just under $40,000 to repair signs targeted by vandals in the Bay of Islands, while in 2022-23 the bill for repairing signs along the Kaitāia-Awaroa-Ahipara-Mangamuka route was more than $20,000.

In September, the coalition Government passed a law which it said would reverse all “blanket” speed limit reductions imposed around the country since 2019, with the new limits coming into effect on July 1 next year.

However, it is not yet clear which of the many hundreds of speed limit changes around the Far North since 2019 will have to be reversed.

What was certain was any permanent speed limit reductions around schools would need to be replaced by variable speed limits that apply only when children are going to and from school.

While the Far North District Council is pressing ahead with speed limit consultation in the Russell area, council staff have previously said they would not proceed with setting new limits until the legal situation was clear.