NZTA moot 80kmh speed limit from Nelson to Blenheim

Friday, 11 October 2019

A series of assessments around Nelson and Marlborough could result in significant speed limit decreases on roads around the region. The 100 km/h sign on Lightband Rd, near Burkes Bank, Brightwater.

Reducing the speed limit from Nelson to Blenheim to 80kmh is seen as the most effective way of improving road safety on the busy highway.

The NZTA is putting forward a major proposal that would see the speed limit between the two centres reduced.

If approved this would mean the entire length of State Highway 6 between the two towns, a distance of about 110km, would not be more than 80kmh at any point.

The proposal is set to be opened for public submissions on Tuesday October 15, with a final decision and any implementation to begin before the end of the year.

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Similar assessments have been made for stretches of road in Tasman between Takaka and Upper Takaka, and between Hope and Wakefield, with speed reduction proposals to follow at a later date.

NZTA director of regional relationships Jim Harland said a technical assessment of the state of the road was the reason behind reducing the speed limit.

The proposed 80kmh speed limit would stretch from Blenheim to Nelson on State Highway 6.

'It comes back to the nature of the road and the combination of factors including the alignment, the runoff areas, geometry, the sight lines,' Harland said.

'For the majority of this route it's quite challenging in terms of all of those factors, and when you put it together using the technical assessment it does suggest that the speeds are better to be adjusted down.'

He said if the proposal was approved, it would increase the journey between Nelson and Blenheim by nine minutes, with half of that time from the Blenheim to Havelock leg.

Between 2009 and 2018 there have been a total of 19 deaths and 87 serious injuries on 100kmh zones on SH6 between Nelson and Blenheim.

In the past week there have been two more fatalities, one on the Whangamoa Saddle and another in the Rai Valley.

Harland said as the crashes had been spread throughout the stretch of highway, there was no engineering 'easy fix' that could be made.

'When we look at that whole corridor, you don't find a cluster just around Havelock or Atawhai, you find them dotted all the way through.'

Reducing the speed limit on the highway was the most effective way of improving the safety of the road, Harland said.

'Speed is an important component in the survivability of serious crashes – it's a matter of physics that the lower your speed in a crash the greater your chance of survival.'

He said while it was likely the highway would have improvements made to it in the future, it was still about two years away from a major upgrade assessment.

'If the money's not there to engineer up at the moment on a national basis, it is a responsible thing to do to reduce speed limits in the interim. There will be a reduction in death and serious injuries as a result. '

Harland stressed no final decision had been made, and that NZTA would take on board the views of regular road users during the submission process.

Public opposition to the plan appears to have already surfaced however.

A change.org petition started on Thursday by Nelson woman Stephanie Drewery, protesting the reduction of the 100km speed limit, has already received more than 3000 signatures online (as of Friday afternoon).

Public submissions on the proposal open on Tuesday October 15 and will close on November 12. Submissions can be made (from October 15) at www.nzta.govt.nz/blenheim-nelson-speed-review