A road speed management plan commissioned by South Wairarapa and Carterton district councils failed to see the light of day after the Coalition Government reversed speed reductions nationwide.
Called the “Interim Speed Management Plan,” it was drawn up by Tonkin & Taylor Ltd and presented to the two district governance bodies dated June 2023.
Its purpose: “create an implementation plan for safer speeds in Carterton and South Wairarapa.”
Among key facts the report notes that almost all crashes (91%) involving inappropriate speed in the 10-year period (2012-2021) happened in areas with a 100kmh speed limit. And 73% of crashes involving inappropriate speed (2012-2021) occur during the day.
In a section headed Effects of Speed, the report warns: “Pedestrians, cyclists or motorcyclists are particularly exposed to vehicle impacts, especially at speeds above the limits of human tolerance. The elderly and the very young are more vulnerable to being injured in a crash than road users in other age groups.
“Excessive vehicle speed increases the likelihood of having a crash due to less response time to avoid hazards for drivers, and severity of a crash which is more likely to result in death or serious injury when one occurs. “Crashes involving pedestrians, cyclists, children, the elderly, and those struck by heavy vehicles are more likely to cause injury or result in a fatality even at relatively lower speeds.”
It reports 14 fatal accidents on the roads of the two districts over the decade _ eight of them in South Wairarapa.
The report sets out the existing speed limit (kmh); safe speed (kmh) and proposed speed limit (kmh) for all key roads.
For some areas of road where pedestrians, cyclists, vehicles and machinery mingle in the key winery section of town, it recommends:
- Puruatanga Road from Cambridge Road to 35m nor/east of Regent Street: existing 70kmh; safe 30kmh; proposed 60kmh
- Puruatanga Road from 35 metres northeast of Regent Street to Todds Road: existing 100kmh; safe 80kmh; proposed 60kmh;
- Puruatanga Road from Cambridge Road to 35m nor/east of Regent Street: existing 70kmh; proposed 40kmh;
- Puruatanga Road from 35m nor/east Regent Street to Todds Road: existing 100kmh; proposed 40;
- Princess Street from 50m nor/east New York Street West to Huangarua Road: existing 70; proposed 40kmh;
- Cambridge Road from Memorial Square to Strasbourge Street, current 50kmh; safe 30kmh; proposed 30kmh.
Writing before the Coalition Government scrapped the former government’s road speed reduction plans, the report stated:
“We can reduce the number of deaths and serious injuries on our roads by implementing an effective speed management programme.”
Report: https://cdc.govt.nz/document/draft-interim-speed-management-plan/
