Fitzroy. Photo: New Plymouth District Council / supplied
The New Plymouth District Council (NPDC) plans to drop speed limits in some busy urban and high-risk rural areas across the district.
The council is proposing a 30kmh limit in the Waitara urban area and New Plymouth's Fitzroy and Westown shopping precincts.
A 40kmh limit is proposed for central Inglewood. An 80kmh limit - with pockets of 60kmh - is proposed for rural areas southwest of New Plymouth bounded by Carrington and Mangorei roads, and the coast between State Highway 3 and SH3A.
NPDC manager transport Rui Leitao said the proposals followed the introduction of lower speeds outside the district's schools last year, and a 40kmh trial on roads around Taranaki Base Hospital.
"We know that lower speeds make for safer roads - in New Plymouth's CBD, we've had a 45 percent reduction in crashes since the 30kmh speeds limit began in 2012.
"Unfortunately, our road safety stats throughout the district are getting worse. Deaths and serious injury crashes on our local roads increased by 30 percent in the last year, against our goal of reducing them by 40 percent by 2030.
Leitao said the draft plan was about focusing on improving road users' safety in other parts of the New Plymouth roading network.
The council, which looked after 1278km of roads - 960km of them rural, was required by Waka Kotahi to develop a Speed Management Plan every three years, he said.
The network included 272 bridges, 61km of stormwater drainage culverts and 11,178 traffic lights.
The proposals also include:
- Some minor extensions to the New Plymouth CBD 30kmh area
- Reducing the speed limit on roads adjacent to Inglewood's Windsor Walkway, from 100kmh to 60kmh
- Safer speed limits on some Department of Conservation roads, including Egmont Road from the Te Papakura o Taranaki (formerly Egmont National Park) gates to the North Taranaki visitor centre car park
Stratford and South Taranaki district councils are also consulting on speed plans for their areas.
The New Plymouth District Council is holding three drop-in days for residents to find out more about the proposals and share their thoughts.
- Inglewood Library and Service Centre: 4.30pm-6pm, Wednesday 11 October
- Waitara Sports Hub: 4.30pm-6pm, Thursday 12 October (conference room 2)
- Ōākura - New Plymouth Old Boys Surf Club: 4.30pm-6pm, Wednesday 18 October.
A copy of the draft Speed Management Plan, including a 10-year vision for speed management is available online at trc.govt.nz/transport.
Feedback closes on 29 October.