A series of speed limits changes around the district have been made permanent by the Queenstown Lakes District Council, which voted unanimously in support of the changes at a meeting on Thursday (Friday April 23).

Changes in the Upper Clutha include Ballantyne Road (Golf Course Road to Riverbank Road) which has gone from a 70kph limit to 50kph; and Beacon Point Road (unsealed section) which has dropped by more than half from 50kph to 20kph. 

Cemetery Road (Domain Road to Muir Road) was 100kph and is now 80kph; at Mt Aspiring Road (area by Roy’s Peak Carpark) the limit was cut in half, going from 100kph to 50kph.

Within Wanaka’s urban traffic area boundaries (the main township) the speed limit is now 40kph, a decision which was expanded during the meeting to include four streets in the Ballantyne industrial area: Frederick Street, Enterprise Drive, Connell Street and Gordon Road. 

Deputy mayor Calum MacLeod declared the new speed limits “a step in the right direction”. 

The proposal to slow down driving speeds in and around Wanaka has been debated since it was first proposed. In its second round of community engagement on the topic in February this year, council received 121 submissions.

The proposal to reduce speed limits at the Roys Peak area of Mt Aspiring Road received almost unanimous support; meanwhile the Wanaka urban traffic area reduction had a mixed reception from the public.

Former deputy mayor Lyal Cocks, in a public forum submission, criticised the decision to drop the speeds in Wanaka’s urban traffic area boundaries. 

“I have been through all the submissions in detail and combining the results of the 2019 consultation and the 2020 community engagement, there were 152 opposed and 80 in support,” he said. “It is therefore contrived and false to say the recommendation is consistent with the engagement findings when nearly twice as many oppose the reduction in speed limit than support it.”

Lyal also said it was “hugely misleading” to say the changes will reflect current national ‘good practice’, as no other urban areas in New Zealand have a blanket 40kph limit, he said. 

Submitters in support of the reductions said they believed lower speeds would increase road safety for all road users, including bikers and children walking, and that busier roads were making safe driving more difficult.

Amongst those opposing the speed limit changes, many argued that there needed to be increased investment in roading infrastructure rather than reducing speeds, especially at hazardous intersections, and that existing speed limits should be enforced.

The changes to permanent speed limits will be implemented over time, but no later than November 30, 2020.

PHOTO: Supplied