New 80kmh speed limits for Napier-Taupō Road proposed after safety concerns raised

Tuesday, 13 April 2021

A truck driver captures a dangerous driver on the Napier-Taupo road on the night of August 20, 2020.

New speed limits are being proposed on a section of the notorious Napier-Taupō Road (State Highway 5) with public consultation beginning this week.

Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Agency is focusing on a section of road from Rangitaiki to Esk Valley as well as section of State Highway 51 from between Waipatu in Hastings and Marine Parade in Napier.

The proposed speed limit between Rangitaiki and Esk Valley on SH5 would reduce from 100kmh to 80kmh.

NZTA figures showed that between 2010 and 2019, 16 people were killed in crashes on SH5 and another 75 people were seriously injured.

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NZTA's proposed speed limits for Napier-Taupo Road.

Proposed changes for SH51 went from 100kmh to 80kmh (from Napier to Clive) and 70kmh to 60kmh (near Clive and Waipatu).

Eight deaths have been recorded on the Napier-Taupo road between 2019 and 2020.

Agency regional relationships director Emma Speight said from 2010, more than 150 people had either lost their life or been seriously injured in crashes on the two state highways.

“We want everyone who uses our roads to get to where they’re going safely. Even when speed doesn’t cause a crash, it is always a factor in the severity and can be the difference between a person being killed, seriously injured, or walking away from a crash.”

Waka Kotahi was formally consulting on proposed speed changes on SH51 and SH5.

At the same time, it would be asking for feedback on the remaining sections of SH5 including Esk Valley and the Rangitaiki Straights.

Speight said the sections were chosen as they had a high crash risk and said “lower speed limits save lives. We also know that communities want to see speeds lowered in the areas where serious crashes are occurring”.

“This is something we can do to prevent deaths and help us to achieve our road to zero target to reduce the number of people killed or seriously injured on our roads by 40 per cent over the next 10 years. However, speed is only one part of the puzzle.”

Hawke's Bay road policing manager Matt Broderick said it was important to note that it was “just a consultation process, not a decision'.

The Napier-Taupo road has seen 321 crashes since the beginning of 2016.

“Will a reduction of speed help reduce death and injury on that road? I believe it will,” he said.

Broderick believed a median barrier was a safer solution to reduce crashes on the road – but understood that would come with significant cost and geographical challenges.

Road safety advocate and regular user of the road Antony Alexander believed lowering speed limits would increase frustrations that motorists already had on SH5 and that it was a “cheap solution”.

“Stupid driving and crashes will actually increase as they have around SH2 in the Bay of Plenty,” he said.

“I would support specific areas having speed lowered, but not the whole section. I support the road to zero campaign, but I do not support a blanket speed lowering and nor will the majority of road users.”

Alexander said more road barriers were needed, as well as widening and straightening dangerous corners.

Hastings mayor Sandra Hazlehurst said speed reduction cannot “just be the only tool in the safety toolbox”.

“We have been asking now for many years to see the long-term business case outlining future improvements. Our community is concerned about the impact this speed limit proposal will have on our region’s productivity.”

Hazlehurst said Waka Kotahi needed to provide technical assessments of the road, including what other options had been assessed to improve the safety, resilience, and efficiency.

The formal consultation period began on Monday, April 12, and will close at 11pm on Sunday, May 9, 2021.

An additional $2.5 million had been secured for safety improvements on SH5. Those would be focused on the section of road from Ohurakura Rd in Te Pōhue to Waipunga Gorge lookout carpark, and would include side barriers, road markings and rumble lines.