‘Slap In The Face’: Gisborne Residents Fight Speed Limit Changes

Thursday, 13 March 2025, 7:45 am
Article: Zita Campbell - Local Democracy Reporter

Gisborne residents who successfully petitioned for lower speed limits years ago say they are “absolutely disappointed” and “frustrated” stretches of State Highway 35 could return to higher speeds.

New Zealand Transport Agency (NZTA) is consulting on the speed limit on a 10.5km stretch of road from Makorori to Pouawa after a Government rule change that requires speed limit reversals on some local roads and highways by July 1.

The road will go from 80km/h to 100km/h unless there is enough public support to retain the current limits.

Public consultation ends on Thursday.

The road had been part of a petition in 2019 when locals successfully lobbied for lower speed limits from Tamarau to Makorori.

Sections of the highway, from Wainui Rd, Tamarau, and Moana Rd, Okitū, are considered “urban connectors” and will automatically reverse back to previous speeds.

The Makorori section, classified as a “rural connector”, allows for consultation.

In an email thread to a resident, Gisborne District Council asset planning manager Tina Middlemiss said she pulled data from NZTA’s Crash Analysis System (CAS).

Middlemiss wrote she found that there was a 64% reduction in crashes from the five years before to the five years after they reduced the speed limit from 100 to 80km/h on September 8, 2020, for the stretch of road currently being consulted on.

“So, by increasing the speed limit from 80 back up to 100km/h it would reason that there would be almost triple the risk of crashes and harm occurring,” she wrote.

NZTA has been approached for comment.

Residents say lower speeds made them feel safer

Resident Veronika Lambert, who organised the original petition to lower the highway speed limits, urged locals to submit to the consultation.

Lambert said changing the limits would be “a slap in the face” after all the work the community put into advocating for reducing speeds.

“We put so much effort into it. They surely will not change that. [It’s] absolutely disappointing that they didn’t ask us.”

The travel time from Okitū to Wainui has increased by two to two-and-a-half minutes since the 10km drop in speed limits, she said.

“It doesn’t make any economic sense to reverse it, but in regards to safety, it’s huge.”

Lambert said families and residents felt safer on the roads since the speed reductions.

“We feel way safer here... letting the kids go biking, having the kids down to the school bus... crossing between the playground and the Okitū store. Everyone is crossing this highway."

Local Democracy Reporting put Lambert’s comments to Transport Minister Chris Bishop. The minister’s office referred questions to NZTA.

At a council Regional Transport Committee meeting on Wednesday last week, NZTA regional relationships director Linda Stewart said the agency had no choice when it came to applying the speed limit reversals because of how the 2024 Setting of Speed Limits rule was written.

Once it was given effect, NZTA could look at community sentiment and consider a further speed review further down the line, she said.

A seasonal speed limit of 60km/h for Turihaua and Pouawa beaches currently applies from December 20 to February 1.

The seasonal speed limit would not be affected, Stewart said.

East Coast MP encourages residents to share views

East Coast National MP Dana Kirkpatrick said she met with NZTA on Monday and it would be taking note of comments for the Tamarau to Okitū speed limits.

Kirkpatrick said residents could email their views to speedmanagement@nzta.govt.nz by Thursday.

The NZTA website states these emails will be considered for future speed reviews.

Kirkpatrick said: “I think people should send their emails then because at least it will be recorded. It’s very frustrating that we have to keep doing this, but this is the best course of action.”

She said Bishop had agreed to look at special cases where there had previously been feedback and engagement with the community.

The NZTA consultation document stated there were mixed community views about the lower speed remaining permanently between Makorori and Pouawa.

“We’re consulting to understand whether the community wants the lower speed retained.”

What are the automatic changes?

Speed limits in Okitū were lowered in 2020 after Lambert’s 2019 petition, which gathered 3079 signatures and was supported by former East Coast MP Anne Tolley.

The speeds were reduced to 60km/h for selected Tamarou and Okitū areas and 80km/h for Makorori.

The Government announced an automatic reversal of the speed limit from 60m east of Wheatstone Rd to about 20m northwest of Coldstream Rd, which will revert to 70 and 80km/h in parts.

The other section in Okitū, southwest of Wairere Rd to north Sirrah St, will revert to 70km/h.

Resident and parent Jo Wickham wrote to Go Bus, the Ministry of Education and NZTA in 2020 about the school bus station within the Okitū section. It services four school buses and is located on the highway by the Pines carpark, a popular surf spot.

“It gets quite congested on a good surf day,” she said.

“The speed reduced... and then we looked at trying to make the bus stop safer. But now, the bus stop remains in the same spot, and the speed could be put back up. It’s so frustrating.”

Possible speed limit increase exemption highlighted in council report

At last Wednesday’s meeting, Middlemiss said there was a lot of data coming out to show lower speeds do reduce fatalities.

According to the meeting’s council report authored by Middlemiss, NZTA’s website states one exception to reversing the speed limit is when there have been changes to the surrounding environment, such as a new development.

“There appears to have been no consideration taken of the increase in traffic counts and heavy vehicles over recent years,” wrote Middlemiss.

In 2019, when the Okitū speed limit was reduced from 70 to 60km/h, there was “an increase in traffic volume of over 20% in five years, with double the volume of heavy vehicles from 5 to 10%”, according to her report.

“A query has been raised to NZTA if this qualifies as a change in environment, such as new development does, increased productivity and population growth validating this change in environment.”

It was “increasingly dangerous” to walk to school or work in these areas “yet they are reverting to a speed that was set decades ago”, Middlemiss wrote in her report.

Local Democracy Reporting asked Bishop about whether the Government would consider an exemption for Okitū, Wainui and Tamarau. The minister’s office again referred these questions to NZTA.

NZTA was approached for comment on a possible exemption.

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