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This is a post invited by transport planner Bevan Woodward of the Charitable Trust Movement, who filed a request for a judicial review of governments that set speed limits Rule 2024
Auckland runs the serious risk of having its safer speed limits in approx. 1,500 local streets automatically reversed by the end of the government of July 1, 2025. Under the new scenario of rule of speed limits, the central government is requiring Auckland to reverse the reduced limits after 2020.
I will share with you the perspective of the movement about why the government is doing this, how they are doing and what we are doing in response.
The government saw that this is a vote -winning exercise. While they claim that this will increase the economy, they are really attractive to voters who like to drive quickly. The government states that they are “reversing general work speed reductions,” but the reality is that there were no general speed or work reductions. The safest speed limits were implemented by the local councils and NZTA who made security assessments and made public consultations. Many communities campaigned for years to have safer speed limits.
Ex -Minister of Transport, Simeon Brown, has moved quickly to issue his new speed limits rule. Not only did this require that the safest speed limits since 2020 were reversed until July 1, 2025 without any safety assessment of the consequences, but restricts the road authorities’ ability to set safer speed limits in the future.
For example, by default, interregional rural roads must be 100 km/he urban streets 50 km/h. Urban street speed limits can be reduced to 40 km/h – but not 30 km/h, which is considered best practices internationally.
However, to justify any speed limit reduction, cost-effective economic analysis is required. The expected reduction of serious deaths and injuries is monetized and should exceed the increase in the cost of travel time for drivers. This approach to prioritizing financial gain on safety is completely rejected by health and safety legislation in the workplace, but for some reason the government thinks it is a good idea to define speed limits.
So what can we do about it?
The movement presented a judicial review of the Minister’s decision to authorize his speed boundary scenario 2024. We asked the Higher Court to issue a provisional order to freeze the reversal of safer speed limits, this will be heard on April 9. We hope to obtain an injunction to stop the speed limit reversals in Auckland and the rest of the country.
This would remain where our judicial revision is heard and determined.
If you want to learn more or support our legal action with a (deductible) donation, go to www.movement.org.nz
The post SOS – Save our streets! He first appeared in Greater Auckland.
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