The Hawke’s Bay Regional Transport Committee today discussed the decision to reduce the speed limit from 100km to 80km on a 76km stretch of State Highway 5 between Napier and Taupō.

The Committee opposes the speed reduction, and requests Waka Kotahi undertake a review of its decision.

We believe that the decision was predetermined, and didn’t not fully take into account the thousands of submissions against the proposal.

We as leaders demand a fair share of crown investment. We need to be true to the whole of system approach, and need to look broader than safety and to the wider impacts on the community. We agree there are issues on our State Highway 5, but that these issues will not be solved solely through a reduction in speed.

Auckland gets the holiday highways and a $16B light rail project, Wellington (nearly) gets Transmission Gully, Waikato has the bypass, Bay of Plenty has the Eastern Arterial, Manawatu gets a gorge replacement. We get nothing but a speed reduction.

State Highway 5 is a lifeline for the region and our transport system. It is as important to us as the Auckland Harbour Bridge is to Auckland. It is vital to our competitiveness as a region, not least for the Port of Napier.

We find there is a lack of strategic management of SH5, and the focus has been solely through the speed lens, without taking adequate consideration of the flow on and broader social and economic effects.

We appreciate that Waka Kotahi is in a difficult position here. It is under direction from the Government to reduce death and serious injuries without adequate resource backing from the Crown and that is where the battle lies.

The question we are discussing is not about safety but about method. If this is meant to be a whole of system approach, then this approach is lacking. We as a region deserve better. We are demanding a commitment to investment in the corridor that will enable the 100km to be reinstated without safety concerns for our communities, or lives being put at risk.

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