Rotorua State Highway Reversal Limits

The reversals are for categories of specific roads, and in the Gulf of Hundred, it refers to a large extent to Rotorua and will happen between July 1 now.

The Minister of Transport, Chris Bishop, said that changes will make it easier for people and goods to move as quickly and efficiently as possible and lead to economic growth and productivity.

“The reversal of speed limit discounts if the confidents in this regard are also part of the coalition agreement with national action.”

The speed limit changes in Rotorua were made in October 2022 following the consultation.

The New Zealand Transport Agency, Waka Kotahi, said at that time that there were 629 accidents, six people killed and 26 seriously injured on roads between 2009 and 2018.

Community feedback included concern limits were uncertain on parts of the SH5 and SH30 and applications for more consistent and slower speeds.

Rotorua roads are included in the 49 sections of the state highway, under public consultation, if the speed should remain as they are or return to the higher limit. Consultation will close in six weeks.

There is a proposal to return the limit on SH5 south of the rotor of 80 km/h to 100 km/h.

In 2023, both lanes of the stretch of 795 meters south of Old Taupō RD had a daily average annual traffic of 16,631 vehicles, including 26.7% heavy vehicles.

In 2022, Nzta said that concerns include the speed between the HEMO RD roundabout and right south of Waipa State Mill Rd.

“People told us that they feel uncertain, because there is a blind corner and is busy with the trucks and cars that enter and leave Waipa State Mill RD,” he said on his site.

The director of Mountain Bike Rotorua, Takurua Mutu, did not support the limit of the limit back to 100 km/h on the crowded stretch.

“There is an entire industrial park there.”

Beyond that, it was the center for the third mountain bicycle park in the world, he said.

“I don’t think it’s a very good idea.”

The historical data collection showed at least 1000 people a day entered the forest through the main bridge in Waipa in the summer peak months.

Mutu named this conservative, because he did not include other Waipa entries.

The Cheretea Red Stag company is based in Waipa. The Director General, Tim Rigter, said he had a decrease in speed on that stretch.

Visibility has declined with blindspot and had it to 80 km/h “made sense,” he said.

Asked if the speed limit drop would have helped, he said he was “certainly safer”, but found the residents took some time to get used to it.

The worried resident of Rotorua and the former council candidate, Ryan Gray, said he spoke to companies, mountain cyclists and others about increasing the proposed speed limit. There is a “massive concern” for what was already “a dangerous and complicated intersection” used by mountain cyclists, walks, families, tourists and heavy trucks going to the mill.

Gray provided a petition that demanded that the limit would remain the same and asked people to “make their opinions known.”

He said that while some of the proposed changes were “fine”, it was dangerous and will lead to “wounds and potential deaths”.

Gray said that there will always be the driver’s mistakes and that it would be better if they would go more slowly and avoid an accident.

Tapsell said that her personal view was that the Waipa stretch in SH5 was a “dangerous place.” She and the Council have previously applied for financing for safety improvements.

“I would be reluctant to see that it will return to 100 km/h without improvements.”

It supported the speed limit increases where it made sense and encouraged the community to participate in the consultation, through the NZTA site.

Other consulting areas are 30 -state highway sections between Rotorua and Whakatāne.

In response to Reporting local democracy Questions, Bishop said the government was determined to improve road safety and invested $ 1.3 billion in the Road Police Investment Program.

This would “help to target the main causes of serious deaths and wounds on our roads – drugs and alcohol.”

“Even this week I had the second reading of the legislation that will allow drug testing on the roadside, and the police increased significantly the number of breathing tests on the road for alcohol.”

Investments included encouraging safer driving behavior, promoting safer vehicles, road police and application, such as safest, safer, safer drivers and needing safer vehicles to allow people to travel safely and efficient.

When he announced the changes, the bishop said that “the previous government was obsessed with the slowdown of the New Zealand, imposing illogical and speeding speed discounts on the state highways and roads.

“National campaign regarding the reversal of the speed limit discounts on the last elections, and over 65% of the references during the consultation on (rule) agreed.”

The spokesman for labor transport, Tangi Utikere, said the party will not oppose the limits of speed increase where it is for sure.

“However, the government makes many of these changes based on a campaign promise, rather than evidence.

“I would like to see the evidence that it is safe to raise speed limits on these roads, not on the opinion of the National Party that it is.”

Automatic reversals in Rotorua

Laura Smith is a journalist to report local democracy based in Rotorua Daily Post. She has previously reported general news for Otago Daily Times and Southland Express and is a 2019 journalist.

– LDR is the local journalism co-financed by RNZ and NZ on Air.