Auckland speed limits to be slashed on 660 roads from Tuesday

Monday, 29 June 2020

Speed limits are coming down on 660km of roads across the Auckland region.

Contentious speed reductions on more than 600 Auckland roads take effect on Tuesday in a move hoped to avert 84 deaths or serious injuries over the next five years.

The long-signalled reductions focus on higher risk roads in the central city, with most of the reductions applying in the largely rural Rodney and Franklin wards.

“Even where speed doesn't cause a crash, it is the biggest single determinant in whether anyone gets hurt, killed, or walks away,” Auckland Transport chief executive Shane Ellison said.

The cuts will take some city and town centre road speed limits down to 30 or 40kmh. Rural roads will reduce in some cases from 100kmh to 80 or even lower from June 30.

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Auckland Transport chief executive Shane Ellison, left, and general manager of safety Bryan Sherritt outline speed limit reductions occurring across the city.

Ellison said after climbing by 70 per cent from 2013-17, death and serious injury crashes had reduced by 25 per cent in 2019, but were still “far, far, too high”.

The reductions have the backing of Auckland councillors.

“We realised we had failed miserably in providing a transport system that maximised safety,” planning committee chair Chris Darby said.

Some 100kmh open roads in Auckland will be reduced to 80kmh limits or even lower (file photo).

Mayor Phil Goff also supported the lowering of speed limits.

“Reducing speeds to safer limits on roads identified as posing high risk is one effective way that we can reduce deaths and serious injuries and keep all road users safe,” Goff said.

The agency will monitor the impact of the speed reductions over the next 18 months and a second and third tranche of more complicated changes will also be made.

It is hoped there will be 24 fewer road deaths and serious injuries in the CBD following the reduction of many speed limits from June 30 (file photo).

The Automobile Association (AA) supports the general idea, but said AT had moved too far, too fast.

“The main concern for us is that a number of the changes don’t make sense to people – and where speed limits don’t make sense, people won’t comply,” spokesman Barney Irvine said.

The AA called for a “less blanket” approach and wanted major CBD arterials such as Nelson, Hobson and Fanshawe streets not to be lowered from 50kmh to 40 as proposed.

'There’s also a big group of 100kmh rural roads that are going to be brought down to 60kmh or even 40kmh. Many of these should have been brought down to 80 instead,” Irvine said.

Auckland Transport's board signed off the cuts in October 2019 after public consultation and the agency then released a public opinion survey, of which the board had not been aware.

Of 1004 respondents, 49 per cent supported lower speeds in general while 27 per cent were opposed.

AT said localised speed reductions in past years had shown their effectiveness in boosting safety.

Comparing the decades before and after the 2008 reduction to part of Queen Street to 30kmh, AT said crash rates fell by 39.8 per cent, including a 36 per cent reduction in deaths and serious injuries.

It said on average in the eight years after the 2009 speed limit cut on Ponsonby Rd to 40kmh, deaths and serious injuries fell by more than 50 per cent.