Napier-Taupō, Napier-Clive: Lower Hawke’s Bay speed limits reversed

The controversial dropping of the speed limit on more than half of State Highway 5 between Napier and Taupō and the seafront highway between Napier and Clive has been reversed in an announcement made today by Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and new Minister of Transport Chris Bishop.

On February 18, 2022, the limit on more than 70km between Waipunga Rd, near Eskdale, and Matea Rd, on the Rangitāiki Plains was dropped from 100km/h to 80km/h, despite widespread opposition and a campaign to stop the change going ahead, including vandalism wiping out the numbers on road signs.

The coalition Government and National Party leaders announced the conversion back to 100km/h on 38 highways would be completed by July 1, also including SH51 south of Marine Parade, Napier, to north of Farndon Rd, north of Clive.

Opposition to the reduction in the speed limit on State Highway 5 between Napier and Taupō almost two years ago include wiping out the numbers on the speed-limit signage. Photo / NZME

That section has had major safety improvements over the last two years, including a major roundabout at the intersection with Awatoto Rd and installation of wire restrainers in the media strips and at the sides of the highway.

A list of an additional 49 sections of roads is also being released for public consultation, including “inter-regional” aspects on the highways, and consultation is open until March 13 to see if there is public support to retain the 80km/h speed limits on SH5 in the vicinity of the Tarawera Cafe, Te Pohue from Turangakumu to Te Hāroto, SH5 Te Pōhue.

The new rules also require variable speed limits outside schools during pick-up and drop-off times, and Bishop also said that by July 1, local streets outside schools will be required to have a 30km/h variable speed limit and rural roads outside schools would have variable speed limits of 60km/h or less.

“Throughout the world, 50km/h is used as the right speed limit to keep urban roads flowing smoothly and safely. The evidence on this is clear – comparable countries with the lowest rates of road deaths and serious injuries, such as Norway, Denmark, and Japan, have speed limits of 50km/h on their urban roads, with exceptions for lower speed limits.”

Public consultation starts immediately and runs for six weeks, and councils have until May 1 to advise national highways management agency NZ Transport Agency Waka Kotahi (NZTA) of intentions for local roads.

It is part of the National and Act coalition agreement to reverse speed-limit reductions implemented under the previous Labour Government, but the move comes at a time when the road toll nationwide is spiralling upwards in a bad start to 2025, with 29 deaths provisionally recorded so far in January.

Both of the Hawke’s Bay sectors had seen increased numbers of road tragedies in recent years before the speed limits were lowered, amid growing concerns about maintenance and the claimed deteriorating conditions of the roads.

National MPs Catherine Wedd (Tukituki) and Katie Nimon (Napier) greeted the two Hawke’s Bay reversals as “great news”.

They said they’d been “getting feedback” from many people during the summer break and they are so frustrated by the blanket 80km reduction on SH5.

They say NZTA will not be consulting on other locations between Rangitaiki and Eskdale, other than the three specified, because feedback suggests there is no public support for lower speeds to be kept in other locations along this route.

The section of SH51 between Napier and Clive is classed as a rural connector and will automatically revert to 100km/h by July, and the MPs claim it will have a direct impact on productivity in the region, especially for Napier Port.