Feedback invited on proposed changes to speed limits in Clutha

Consultation on proposed changes to speed limits to improve safety in the Clutha District opens today (1 November 2023) and will close at 5:00pm on Friday, 15 December 2023.

Clutha District Council’s Draft Speed Management Plan aimed to improve safety in line with the Government’s nationwide ‘Road to Zero’ campaign, which had a target of reducing deaths and serious injuries on New Zealand’s roads by 40% by 2030.

A key initiative of the draft plan was to reduce traffic speed around the district especially schools, rural townships and urban town centres.

In producing the draft plan Council had consulted with road safety specialists and obtained feedback from the community to shape the document.

Clutha District Mayor Bryan Cadogan said that there had been much discussion about the initiative and it had been an exhaustive process to reach the point of producing the draft plan.

“We are now looking forward to hearing from the public, so that we can ensure the speed limit changes will reflect our district’s vision for the safety on our rural and urban roads, and especially around our schools,” Mayor Cadogan said.

The draft speed management plans have four main focus areas:

• Safe speeds around our kura/schools by introducing a 30km/h permanent speed limit for most schools in the district.
• Safe speeds in our urban towns by keeping the urban speed limit of 50km/h in our towns – excluding roads located within the school zones.
• Safe speeds limits in our rural towns as some speed limits were no longer appropriate.
• Safe speed limits on our rural roads by proposing to lower the speed limits on rural unsealed roads and maintain the 100km/h speed limit on rural sealed roads.

To read the proposed Speed Management Plan and to submit feedback, got to www.cluthadc.govt.nz/speed-management-plan before 5:00pm, Friday 15 December 2023. There is also an interactive map to search a road in Clutha and check out the proposed speed changes to that road.