KEY POINTS:
New speed limits of 30 to 60km/h for traffic on Muriwai Beach are expected next summer as a first step to make the beach safer for all users.
Rodney District Council will seek public views on a bylaw which will impose specific speed limits for parts of the
40km beach.
"The public are crying out for something to be done and the police need something like this to give them more teeth," said council strategy and finance chairman Zane Taylor.
"It's an interim measure until a long-term solution for a complex problem is worked out."
Police will be able to issue speeding tickets. Now they rely on a default limit of the zone adjacent to the beach: 50km/h adjacent to urban Motutara Rd and 100km/h for the rural rest of the beach.
The proposal is for 30km/h from Motutara Rd to 650m north of the Coast Rd access then 60km/h northwards to the Defence Bombing Range.
The public are not allowed there and vehicles are banned from the wildlife tidal area of Papakanui Spit.
Rodney officials say the proposed speeds will enable drivers to get through hidden soft spots while recognising safety risks to pedestrians.
Rodney Council, as the controlling authority for beach roads, is under pressure to totally ban vehicles. This comes from Kaipara Forest &Bird Society, Ngati Whatua NgaRima o Kaipara and adjacentlandowner Otakanini Topu Inc.
An nzherald.co.nz poll in March found substantial opposition to vehicles on beaches - a response to a problem highlighted on New Year's Eve when 13-year-old Daisy Fernandez, of Tauranga, was killed by a teenage motorcyclist at a beach in Northland.
But the council has been made well aware that the ability to drive and ride on the beach is important to many.
Mr Taylor said doing nothing posed an unacceptable risk of further accidents.
An average 10,000 vehicles a month have been logged at the Coast Rd access and traffic volumes are rising.
Seventeen interest groups so far contacted accepted the need for better management of vehicles, said Mr Taylor. All groups would be consulted by the council, which will take submissions until Friday, October 3.
The council says a long-term management programme dealing with both traffic and environmental concerns could take several years.
The council is working on this with the Auckland Regional Council, the police and the Department of Conservation.
The ARC is putting up $150,000 this year for driver education, improving access points to the beach through the regional park and fencing of vulnerable dune areas.
NEW BYLAW
* 30km/h limit from Motutara Rd to 650m north of Coast Rd access.
* 60km/h northwards to bombing range.
* Drive "within conditions" at access points.
* Submissions close October 3.
