As part of an ongoing bylaw review, the Whakatāne District Council is proposing to introduce a new Traffic and Speeds Bylaw and revoke both Part 12 (Traffic and Speed Limits) and Part 4 (Mobile Trading) of its existing Consolidated Bylaw 2008.
Community consultation on both proposals will begin on Tuesday next week (23 January) and continue through until Friday, 2 March. Statement of proposal documents detailing the proposed changes and the reasons for them are available via the links below, and formal submissions can be made online or in writing (once submissions are open).
Draft Traffic and Speed Limits Bylaw 2018
The Draft Traffic and Speed Limits Bylaw 2018 incorporates most aspects of the existing Traffic and Speed Limits Bylaw, but proposes the following key changes.
1. Restrictions on heavy goods vehicles parking in urban traffic areas at night, except when the driver is staying overnight at a registered commercial accommodation facility. This is to prevent safety issues created when heavy goods vehicles obstruct traffic lanes, and the disturbance caused by drivers starting their vehicles early in the morning.
2. Changes to the restrictions requiring heavy goods vehicles travelling through the District to use State Highway 2 via Tāneatua and Nukuhou, rather than the route through Ōhope. The proposed restrictions include:
- No logging trucks will be able to travel through Ōhope at any time, except when permitted for the harvesting of nearby forest plantations
- Heavy goods vehicles will be banned from driving through Ōhope at any time, unless they are servicing the Ōhope and Wainui Road areas, or they have a Council-issued permit
- No permitted heavy goods vehicles will be able to travel through Ōhope between the hours of 10 pm and 6 am
The proposed restrictions will address the safety and amenity impacts created by heavy goods vehicles travelling through Ōhope, and recognises that the alternative state highway network is more appropriate in terms of strength and alignment to carry long haul heavy traffic through the District.
3. The Speed Limits Schedule has been updated to align with the New Zealand Transport Agency’s recently-adopted Speed Management Guide, which sets out technical information around the range of speeds that can be set, based on the type and condition of a road. Changes proposed for 21 sections of road in the Whakatāne District are set out in the Statement of Proposal: Draft Traffic and Speed Limits Bylaw 2018, which is available on the Council website.
Proposal to revoke existing Mobile Trading bylaw
An assessment of the existing Mobile Trading bylaw highlighted a number of issues, including:
- Much of the bylaw cannot be enforced
- A restrictive approach does not align well with Council’s strategic aim to encourage diversity and vibrancy in the business sector
- The current bylaw does not fit well with legislation setting out the reasons councils may implement a bylaw
Submissions open 23 January
Following the formal consultation process, all of the submissions received will be considered by the Council at a hearing in April.
Any person or organisation is welcome to make a submission on the proposed bylaw changes, either online or in writing (by email or post). Informal submissions can also be made by commenting on the Council's Facebook page. Hard copies of all documents relating to the proposals are available from Whakatāne District Council, Whakatāne Library, Edgecumbe Library, Ōhope Library and the Murupara Library/Service Centre.