Cars travel along Pakowhai Road in front of the Pakowhai School sign on Chesterhope Road. Pakowhai Road speed will increase from 60km to 80km. Photo / Warren Buckland
Cars travel along Pakowhai Road in front of the Pakowhai School sign on Chesterhope Road. Pakowhai Road speed will increase from 60km to 80km. Photo / Warren Buckland
Hastings District Council is proposing sweeping speed limit drops across the district, including a 30kmh speed limit for Havelock North CBD.
But a rare speed limit increase proposal - an end to the 60km/h slow-down on Pakowhai Rd - aleady has some in the area up in arms.
In theagenda for Tuesday's meeting, council chief executive Nigel Bickle said the council had to implement safe and appropriate speed limits across the road network.
As a result more than 70 roads are up for change, most of them rural.
One of the most controversial is likely to be Pakowhai Rd again, which caused angst when it dropped from 100kmh to 80kmh.
This time the council's proposed removal of a 60km/h zone through Pakowhai, which has a school on a side road, is a terrible idea, a business owner says.
"It's such a busy intersection, the modelling of it needs to be given more thought than the speed," he said.
"The island is more a problem than the speed, 60kmh is the perfect speed limit. An increase in the speed would cause more problems than we already have."
Havelock North CBD will have a traffic speed change to 30km limit. Photo / Warren Buckland
The council also proposes putting up speed warning on Pakowhai Rd from 150m northeast of Elwood Rd.
"It's quite a built-up area, and we've had accidents on Elwood Rd," he said.
He added the council also needed to look into the "diabolical" roundabout on Chesterhope Rd.
"People treat it as an overtaking lane rather than a roundabout. It is surprising no one has been killed there yet."
In Havelock North, the 30km/h speed limit for the CBD is an idea agreed to by the Havelock North Business Association Board.
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Bickle said public requests and report recommendations from fatal and serious injury crashes tended to spur speed limit changes.
"Officers then undertake evidence-based research to determine safe and appropriate speed limit recommendations. Safe roads, he said, were essential for the community's wellbeing. All proposals go out for public consultation. The review includes community requests received since the last full speed limit review, done in 2017. Full details about the proposed changes can be found here: here.
