Mixed response to lower speed limit plans for south Auckland suburbs

Auckland Transport plans to introduce 30kph speed limits across almost all of Manurewa East, Weymouth and Clendon Park, starting from the end of the year. Photo / RNZ

Plans by Auckland Transport to introduce 30km/h speed limits across almost all of Manurewa East, Weymouth and Clendon Park by the end of the year have received a mixed response from locals.

AT approved the changes last week, which are expected to be rolled out between December 2022 and March 2023.

But not everyone thinks the changes are a good idea.

Suhansha Prasad works in Manurewa as a customs broker and wasn't impressed with AT's blanket approach to reducing speed limits in the area.

"If it was done just in the school zones it would be fine, but other than that, it won't work," she said. "I think it will just cause more traffic."

And when asked if she thought people would follow the new reduced speed limits, she was quick to answer.

"Probably not, people around don't even obey the 50kph speed limit as it is."

Alo Setefano said she didn't know if AT's changes would work and said people in Clendon Park "won't drive 30kph". Photo / LDR

Local resident Alo Setefano shared her thoughts and said she wasn't sure the changes would work.

"Not everyone around here drives fast, but people around here won't drive 30kph."

But not everyone was sceptical about AT's plans.

Clendon Park resident Hope Sefatu said she supported the idea to slow traffic in Palmers Rd, where she lives.

"I think it's good because there's heaps of kids around here and I see cars speeding around here every day," she said. "I don't let my kids play outside, because there are so many cars."

Clendon Park resident Hope Sefatu says she supports the idea of reducing the speed of traffic in Palmers Rd where she lives and anything that helps improve safety for the local children has to be a good thing. Photo / LDR

She said anything that helps improve safety for the local children has to be a good thing.

But a local Manurewa resident, who didn't want to be named, said there are already speed bumps in almost every street in the area.

"What was the point of putting them in if it was just going to lower the speed limit?"

And she said there's no guarantee locals will slow down anyway.

But AT general manager of safety Stacey van der Putten said the purpose of safe speed limits is to save lives and prevent serious injuries.

"In Tāmaki Makaurau, we have a shocking number of deaths and serious injuries from road trauma. It's just unacceptably high," she said.

"Evidence shows speed is a factor in more than 70 per cent of injury crashes in New Zealand. We need to do everything we can to create safe school neighbourhoods, so parents feel confident their children can walk, bike or scooter to school."

In a statement, AT spokesperson Natalie Polley said the proposed 30km/h speed limits are all around schools in residential areas where there's typically a lot of walking and cycling activity.

"The internationally accepted speed to greatly reduce the chances of a pedestrian being killed or seriously injured is 30kph, which is considered the safe and appropriate speed limit in residential areas around schools."

According to AT, a 30 per cent drop in fatalities has been seen in areas where speed limits were lowered on June 30, 2020.

AT rolled out speed limit changes in more than 800 roads around Auckland in June and July this year.