We want everyone who calls the Whakatāne District home, or who visits our community, to be safe when using our streets and roads. To do this, we need the right speeds on our roads for everyone, whether you are walking to the shops, biking to school, driving to work, or making deliveries.
As part of a nationwide programme led by Central Government, councils across the country are in the process of developing new Speed Management Plans that will guide changes to speed limits across high-risk roads.
This is part of an effort to meet a national target to reduce deaths and severe injuries on our roads by 40 percent over the next 10 years.
Over the next 10 years, we'll be looking at speed changes near schools and kura, marae, cemeteries and urupa, high-risk rural roads, places where there is community demand for change and areas where there are high numbers of pedestrians and cyclists.
We're currently working with key stakeholders like iwi, hapū, whanau and school communities on what changes they would like to see on their roads.
Draft Whakatāne District Speed Management Plan
As part of a nationwide programme led by Central Government, all councils across the country are in the process of developing new Speed Management Plans that will guide how Councils deliver safety improvements across our rohe.
Whakatāne District Speed - Management Plan (draft) - (PDF, 7.6 MB)
Map of the proposed speed changes »
Waka Kotahi Crash Analysis Map »
Consultation closed at 5pm on Sunday 30 July 2023.
Marae Draft Speed Management Plan
Implementing safety improvements at Marae is a key area of developing this plan, recognising the importance of Marae as gathering places and the hub for many communities.
Rural School Speed Review
Our initial phase reviewing speeds around our rural schools has now been completed with new speed limits to be implemented mid-2023. The report below provides the outcomes of this review process.
Rural School Speed Review - Consultation Summary and Outcomes - (PDF, 4.6 MB)
What is good speed management?
As part of the nationwide effort to reduce deaths and injuries on our roads, the Government has introduced a new law called the Land Transport Rule, Setting of Speed Limits 2022.
This law sets out new rules for speed limits around schools that Council must follow.
These new rules include:
- 40 percent of schools to have speed limit reduced by 30 June 2024.
- All schools to have speed limit changes by 2027.
- Local streets should have speed limits of 30 or 40kph.
- Urban Connectors (typically our urban arterial roads) can be up to 50kph with appropriate safety interventions.
- All undivided roads in the rural network should have speed limits of no more than 80kph, and should be 60kph where safety is compromised, such as where vehicles are parking or terrain, obstacles etc which make the road hazardous
We know lowering speeds will reduce the risk of injury for those travelling in our community and encourage more active transport like walking, scootering and biking. By lowering speed limits to 30kph in urban areas, these activities become much safer and should encourage more people to be more active and help reduce congestion.
You can find out more about the new rule here
Where are you considering making speed changes?
Implementing new speed limits is required by the Setting of Speed Limits Rule 2022. It requires all District and City Councils to implement speed limit changes in line with Waka Kotahi guidance. It is also an opportunity to ensure that our speed limits are appropriate and keep our community safe from harm.
Will you be supporting speed changes with infrastructure too?
Yes. Included within the plan is an implementation plan for new speed infrastructure such as speed humps and raised crossings. We are also including other safety improvements that will bring our arterial roads up to an appropriate safety standard to meet Waka Kotahi guidance; doing this allows us to keep our urban arterials at 50kph.
The Plan also includes areas where we would like to see more enforcement of speed limits by both police and introduction of safety cameras.
When will all this happen?
We’ve already started to implement lower speed limits at our rural schools and this should be finished by the end of Term 3.
Consultation on the Speed Management Plan will run from 3 July to 30 July. Once this is complete we will update the plan and Council will finalise this at a meeting. Waka Kotahi will need to authorise the plan and then we will start to implement changes from mid-2024.
Will slowing down mean that it will take longer to get anywhere
Not necessarily. Research shows that going faster doesn’t save as much time as we think. Waiting for traffic and other road factors usually means total travel times don’t vary much, even if you drive 10 km/h faster. In our Urban areas the proposed 30kph may seem very slow, but most of the time you’ll be on an arterial route traveling at 50kph so overall travel times shouldn’t change too much.
How do you make drivers slow down to the set speeds?
A variety of road safety enforcement measures has been shown to improve road user behaviour and safety outcomes, including intensive policing programmes and the use of officer-issued infringements and automated compliance through safety camera technology.
Improving our road infrastructure, as well as setting and enforcing safe and appropriate speed limits, are key to achieving Vision Zero, where no one is killed or seriously injured on our roads.
Speed isn’t the problem, drivers are. Why aren’t you focusing on them?
Even the most skilled drivers make mistakes. Most drivers understand that New Zealand’s roads can be challenging. Good speed management gives drivers the cues they need to judge the safe and appropriate speed for the road they are on. Council is also actively promoting road safety with school children and through public education campaigns.
Why are you changing speed limits around schools first?
The new rules require both Councils and Waka Kotahi/New Zealand Transport Agency to review (and lower where necessary) the speed limits around schools/kura by 2027. Councils are responsible for implementing these changes on local roads, and Waka Kotahi are responsible for them on State Highways.
We’ve already started making these changes at our rural schools to make these safer for our tamariki and whanau.