The Council asked for public feedback on the proposed Hamilton City Speed Limit Bylaw 2018 which included two changes; to enable future speed limits to be set via Council resolution, and to change the speed limit on Gordonton Rd.
We received 145 submissions on the two proposed changes. 86% of the submissions were in favour of the change to the bylaw to allow speed limits to be set via Council resolution and 82% of the submissions were supportive of the proposed change to the speed limit on Gordonton Rd.
The Council decided on 6 September 2018 to adopt the Hamilton City Speed Limit Bylaw 2018. The new bylaw and the new permanent 60km/h speed limit on Gordonton Rd will come into effect on 10 October 2018.
View submitted responses where consent has been given to publish the response.
Hamilton City Council (the Council) is seeking feedback on the review of the Hamilton City Speed Limit Bylaw. The bylaw enables Council to set speed limits on any road within the jurisdiction of the Council other than State Highways, which are controlled by the NZ Transport Agency.
The Council has considered the proposed Hamilton City Speed Limit Bylaw 2018 and determined that it is the most appropriate form of bylaw for setting speed limits within Hamilton in accordance with the Land Transport Rule: Setting of Speed Limits 2017.
Background
The full Hamilton City Speed Limit Bylaw was last reviewed in 2012 as per the Local Government Act 2002 requirements, and came into force 1 March 2013. Since that time there have been two amendments in order to implement speed limit changes in accordance with Council resolutions, on 17 September 2013 and 14 December 2017.
This review seeks to make two changes:
Please note: Please be aware when providing a submission that all responses are part of the consultation process. This means that your name but not contact details may be reproduced and included in the Council’s public documents such as the Council agendas and minutes. These documents are available on the Council’s website at hamilton.govt.nz
We need your feedback on the two proposed changes so that we can use this to determine whether or not to proceed with the changes.
ISSUES
1. Speed limit bylaw changes are costly and time-consuming
The current format of the Speed Limit Bylaw forces the Bylaw to go through a full review whenever any changes to speed limits are made by Council. This process is set out in the Local Government Act 1974 and includes a Special Consultative Process. A change to a speed limit can range from changing the speed limits for a number of roads to simply needing to move a speed limit sign. A full bylaw review is costly and time-consuming and doesn’t enable Council to respond quickly to changes in safety performance on our transportation network.
Option 1 would make no changes to the current bylaw. Council would still have to undertake a full bylaw review to change any speed limit within the city, with the associated time and cost implications.
Option 2 would change the current format of the Bylaw so speed limit changes can be addressed through Council resolution in the future. Information that is currently kept in schedules is instead kept in registers, and changes to registers can be made by resolution by Council. This will provide Council with the ability to respond more efficiently and quickly to speed limit change requests to improve safety on the roads. Consultation in accordance with the requirements of the Land Transport Rule: Setting of Speed Limits 2017 would still be undertaken.
2. Safety on Gordonton Rd
The Gordonton Rd corridor within Hamilton city has a current speed limit of 80km/h, with a 60km/h variable speed limit at the Thomas Rd/Gordonton Rd intersection. This road corridor has become increasingly busy as the more houses are built in the northeast of the city and in the Waikato district, resulting in more traffic. To improve safety a 60km/h variable speed limit has been in place at the Thomas Rd/Gordonton Rd intersection since late 2017. This has resulted in a small decrease in severity of injury to people in crashes, but is only an interim solution.
Option 1 would make no change to the speed limits on Gordonton Rd. The speed limit would remain at 80km/h, making it difficult to improve safety at the Thomas/Gordonton intersection and to undertake future work along the Gordonton corridor. This would not follow the direction of the NZ Transport Agency Speed Management Guide.
Option 2 would change the permanent speed limit on Gordonton Rd, from Wairere Dr to 260m north of Thomas Rd, to 60km/h. The 60km/h variable speed limit at the intersection of Thomas Rd would be removed. The permanent 60km/h speed will support the proposed Gordonton Rd corridor work that includes a signalised intersection at Thomas Rd, a northern gateway, flush medians, street lighting and proposed improvements at the Puketaha Rd intersection in 2020/21.
Media Release:
Community asked to share their views on speed limits
WHAT'S NEXT
Once feedback closes, a report will be presented to the 1 August 2018 meeting of the Regulatory and Hearings Comittee. This will provide Councillors with a summary of the feedback and also provides an opportunity for submitters to present in person. The outcome of this work will be then reported to the 6 September meeting of Council and any changes will be formally adopted, with the changes coming into effect 10 October 2018.
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