Small communities around the Tasman region are eagerly anticipating the implementation of long-awaited speed limit reductions, which were delayed by a government rule.
Tasman District Council is currently engaging in a fresh round of public consultation regarding proposed speed limit adjustments. The primary focus is on decreasing speed limits on high-risk rural roads and in the vicinity of several rural schools.
The speed limit decreases were initially planned last year, aligning with a package of reductions adopted by the council. However, these plans were invalidated by then-transport minister Simeon Brown’s new directive for setting speed limits.
Ngātīmoti’s Urgent Need for Slower Speeds
In the rural village of Ngātīmoti, residents have long sought lower speed limits. Frustration has grown as these changes were repeatedly delayed.
The Motueka Valley Highway currently traverses the village at 100km/h, near the local primary school and various community facilities like a hall, swimming holes, and numerous driveways.
The council proposed lowering speeds on the high-risk road to 60km/h through the village, while the rest of the highway was to be reduced to 80km/h.
Patrick Shortley, a member of the Motueka Valley Association and supporter of the reductions, described the current speed limit as “very dangerous” due to poor road visibility.
“It’s a bit of a nightmare,” he said.
“There is constantly a parade of people crossing that highway.”
Despite residents’ support, changes were intended to occur on January 27, but a new government rule mandated council re-consultation, pushing the implementation to the third quarter of 2025.
Shortley expressed anger over this additional delay, criticizing the government’s rule as “unsympathetic” to the concerns of local communities.
While he faulted the government, Shortley also blamed council staff for the years of delays, emphasizing that “it’s clearly in the best interests of Ngātīmoti ratepayers that their kids don’t get killed on the road.”
The council attributed the delays to a demanding workload and staffing changes in its small transport planning team.
Earlier rounds of consultation showed that 91% of submitters in the Motueka Valley Highway area favored lower speeds around Ngātīmoti.
Upper Moutere’s impatient Residents
Like Ngātīmoti, the Moutere Highway and Neudorf Road were also classified as high-risk, with plans to reduce speeds from 100km/h to 80km/h.
Nathan Silcock, chairperson of the Moutere Hills Residents Association, viewed these changes as a “no-brainer.” He is frustrated with the same re-consultation mandate that delayed implementation until the third quarter of 2025.
Silcock called the consultation requirement an “unnecessary” delay and “hugely frustrating.”
“Sooner is always better,” he said.
“It’s just a waste of time and money.”
The association supports the road speed reduction to 80km/h but also wishes for the council to decrease the limit through the Upper Moutere village to 40km/h, citing the current 50km/h threshold as insufficiently safe.
However, the stipulations in the government’s rule likely prevent further lowering the speed limit.
Despite these limitations, Silcock remains hopeful, questioning whether new Transport Minister Chris Bishop might provide more flexibility than his predecessor.
Previous consultative feedback demonstrated that 93% and 91% of respondents supporting changes to the Moutere Highway and Neudorf Road, respectively, wanted reduced speeds.
Tasman Village’s Mixed Reactions
Several proposed speed limit adjustments were introduced for Tasman village.
Aporo Road between Coastal Highway/State Highway 60 and Kina Beach Road would decrease from 60km/h to 50km/h, and the section from Kina Beach Road to Williams Road, near Tasman Christian School, would drop from 80km/h to 60km/h.
Proposed changes also included Dicker and Goddard Roads lowering from 50km/h to 40km/h, and Rush Lane decreasing from 100km/h to 50km/h.
Steve Richards, a member of the Tasman Area Community Association, views the general idea of reduced speeds favorably. However, he finds the proposal overly complex.