New speed limits hit road block

Just a year after being asked what they think of lower speed limits, Tasman residents may be asked all over again.

The possibility comes after Transport Minister Simeon Brown’s new policy would require speed limits adopted but not yet in force – with the speed signs up – by 30 October to be reversed.

This is despite the region’s speed management plan being consulted on last summer, submitted on by more than 2200 people, adopted in July, certified by NZTA earlier this month, and most of its speed limits being in-line with those in the rule.

The lower variable speed limits around schools must be implemented under the new speed limits rule, but it leaves the future of more than a hundred Tasman roads uncertain.

The Setting of Speed Limits Rule was causing “extreme frustration” for Tasman’s deputy mayor and regional transport committee chair Stuart Bryant.

“We were hoping for a bit more flexibility from the Government, and it seems they’ve made it more complicated than it needed to be,” he says.

“I would like to push back [on the Minister] because of the time we've spent consulting the community over a number of years.”

The speed management plan included both Tasman District and Nelson City Councils, and the city council last week brought forward two speed limit reductions to beat the 30 October date.

But Tasman, with more than a hundred roads slated to see reductions, did not have the capacity to lower the already-agreed-upon speed limits in the narrow timeframe.

What exactly is required by the council under the rule is still unknown, but additional clarity is expected to arrive with the release of NZTA guidance on the rule on 30 October.

“It's a little annoying. We haven't even got all the information, and we're having to tell the community that there's going to be further delays,” Stuart says.

The Government’s setting of speed limits rules have changed “significantly” in recent years, first in 2017, and then again in 2022 and now in 2024.

“Each time we've been trying to address the community concerns, which haven't gone away,” says council transport advisor Jane Murray.

“It has taken longer than we probably all would have wanted, but we're still stepping in the right direction.”

She hoped to still see some of the changes, likely those around some schools, implemented early next year.

However, the roll out of the plan – even for the speed limits around schools which won’t reverse under the rule – is currently on hold awaiting the guidance from NZTA.

The guidance might include best practice for the use of electronic signs to signal the variable speed limit in school zones.

However, a pair of the electronic signs costs $36,000.

Recommended advice on having electric signs on roads approaching every school was expected to come at a significant cost and delay the implementation of other speed limit changes.

This was due to the high number of schools across the district, and the implementation budget halved to only about $250,000 a year because NZTA declined the council’s full budget bid.

Jane couldn’t confirm how long the speed limit changes might be delayed.

“Every time I think the finish line is close, it gets moved.”

The Government has been calling for councils to limit their spending, but re-doing the consultation on Tasman’s speeds will come at a cost.

That cost could be inflated by the potential requirement for each individual speed limit that was being consulted on having its own cost-benefit disclosure statement which will examine, among other topics, the relevant road's crash history, expected safety benefits, and impacts on travel times.

The full extent of the consultation would likely be determined by a combination of the contents of the incoming guidance and a decision from councillors, so council officers couldn't confirm what the final cost might be, however they would try to "minimise" it.

Questioned by Local Democracy Reporting, Minister Simeon Brown said in a statement that Kiwis had rejected “Labour’s blanket and untargeted approach to reducing speed limits”.

He added that consultation highlighted “broad support” for the Government’s new rule with 65 per cent of submitters supporting the reversal of blanket speed limit reductions.

“New Zealanders expect a sensible, common-sense approach to speed limits on our roads.”

The Minister didn’t directly respond to questions about why Tasman needed to re-consult on a speed management plan that was largely in-line with both residents’ submissions and the Government’s own requirements.

However, he said there was no requirement for variable speed limit signs outside of schools to be electronic.

While the council tries to figure out what its next steps are, Stuart asks local communities to have patience.

“Bear with us, we’ll get there as soon as we can.”