About the Speed Management Plan

We are asking for feedback on our Speed Management Plan, which proposes to lower the speed around all schools, marae, downtown, and in both urban and rural areas within the Russell-Kororāreka catchment area.

This catchment includes the communities of Russell, Ōkiato, Rāwhiti, Waikare, and Kāretu.

We want to set speed limits that better acknowledge the local conditions and surrounding environment.

Changing the speed limits makes our roads and communities safer for everyone, whether travelling by car, bicycle, or on foot.

Why are we doing this? 

We have received numerous community requests to investigate speed limit changes in the Russell-Kororāreka catchment area. In the past five years, there have been 34 crashes resulting in injuries, with 10 of those leading to death or serious injury. This, combined with a significant increase in walkers and cyclists using these routes, highlights the need for safer speed limits. 

Regardless of the cause of a crash, higher speeds significantly increase the risk of injury or death. Lowering speed limits can make a substantial difference in reducing the severity of crashes, particularly for vulnerable road users like cyclists and pedestrians. 

Our approach 

We are proposing to lower speed limits in the Russell-Kororāreka area based on road risk profiles and community feedback.

These include:

• changes in our urban areas and town centre to create a safe environment where there are pedestrians and cyclists. 

• changes to the speeds on all rural roads in the Russell-Kororāreka area to better reflect the road conditions and surrounding environment. These speed changes are depending on the risk profiles of each road.
• speed limit changes near seven marae, Kaingahoa (Rāwhiti), Kāretu, Kororāreka, Ngaoitonga, Te Rāwhiti (Omakiwi), Waikare (Te Tūruki) and Waihāhā are tailored to the risk profiles of the adjacent roads. 

Our current approach for setting speed limits around schools is to focus on children’s journey to and from school taking an area-wide approach. The draft Land Transport Rule: Setting of Speed Limits 2024 focuses on reducing the speed limit at the school gate only. We are seeking feedback on what is the preferred approach.

These roads have been prioritised due to the vulnerability of children as road users. Safer speeds will encourage more children and families to walk, cycle, or scooter to school safely.

The recently released draft of The Land Transport Rule: Setting of Speed Limits 2024 may impact some of our proposed speed limit changes. However, in response to extensive community feedback, we are continuing to seek input on the proposed speed limit adjustments in Russell-Kororāreka.