Hamilton Speed Management Plan

Overview

SAFER ROADS, SAFER SPEEDS HAMILTON

We want everyone who calls Hamilton home, or visits our city, to be safe when using our streets and roads. That means in our busy city we need the right speeds on the right roads for all, whether walking to the shops, biking to school, driving to work or making deliveries.

As a city Hamilton has a Vision Zero goal for road safety – we don’t believe any loss of life on our streets and roads is acceptable. We’re also a growing city, with more than 20,000 extra people expected to call Hamilton home in the next 10 years.

One of the ways we can make our streets safer is by better managing the speed people travel around the city. We’d like your feedback on our plan to do this.
 

Why your views matter

In late 2018 we started working on a Speed Management Plan for Hamilton.

We held workshops with people and groups involved in road safety, including the Police, AA, city councillors, and the Transport Agency to develop some principles of speed management.

We asked you what you thought of these ideas. We also asked you to tell us where you thought speed on our city’s roads was unsafe or not right.

You shared your views with us online, on social media, via library displays and at the Treats in the Park event at Western Community Centre. We received 200+ comments across online channels, 500+ “pin drops” on maps.

These have been used to draft a Speed Management Plan for Hamilton which we want your feedback on. This would replace the Council’s current Speed Management Policy.

What you told us

Overall you were in support of better managing speed in our city. You also told us making sure people drive at safe and appropriate speeds is about more than just speed limits – there’s also road engineering and infrastructure, education, community engagement, and enforcement.

You said

• Changing just the speed limit isn’t enough
• Speed limits have to be supported by infrastructure like road layout, signage, planting
• Education and behaviour change is also needed
• Speed isn’t the only problem – distracted driving and school gate behaviour is also a road safety concern
• More enforcement of speed limits is needed
• Priority needs to be given to making it safer for children and other vulnerable road users
• You thought a 30km/h speed limit outside schools was appropriate at school times
• Some people said they didn’t want any reductions in speed limits and would like all roads to be faster.

Our proposed speed management approach

Using the feedback from you and stakeholders we’ve developed principles to guide the work we do and what we’ll give priority to. We’ve also developed these in line with the NZ Transport Agency’s Speed Management Guide and the Government’s Safer Journeys road safety strategy, to make sure all risks on roads and the different uses of roads are considered.

Guiding principles

• 30km/h around schools at the start and end of the school day
• 30km/h in busy places where there’s lots of people walking and biking e.g. in shopping areas
• 40km/h in residential local neighbourhoods where people live and play
• New roads will be built and existing roads upgraded to reflect the purpose of the road and to create a safe and appropriate environment
• We will ensure consistency of speed management between neighbourhoods or areas
• Focus on where we’ll get the biggest access and safety improvements
• We will be consistent with similar speeds and approach used by neighbouring councils and the Transport Agency 

We’ll give priority to

• Roads and routes which will bring the greatest reduction in deaths and serious injuries to people
• Places where there’s strong community demand for change
• Changes which bring consistency to neighbourhoods and make sense
• Places where lots of people walk or bike, or where they will soon walk and bike

How we will use these principles and priorities

Using these principles, along with tools provided by the Transport Agency, a speed management vision for Hamilton has been prepared. How and when we deliver this will be worked out using the priorities above and alongside national speed management work, such as changes needed to bring in 30km/h speed limits outside schools. When changes are planned, the Council will engage with stakeholders and the community.

Related documents:

• The full Speed Management Plan  (pdf 5,692KB)
• The Community Consultation Document  (pdf 10,895KB)
• Your Ideas - Safer roads, safer speeds Hamilton (November 2018 engagement)

Please note:
Please be aware when providing a submission/giving feedback/responding to a survey 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 www.hamilton.govt.nz