Roger Parton says increasing the speed limit outside Speldhurst would increase danger for motorists. Photo: RNZ / Jimmy Ellingham
A retirement village is making a stand against plans to reverse a speed limit drop on the busy road outside its growing community.
Residents of Speldhurst Country Estate near Levin do not want a 100kmh limit restored on part of State Highway 57.
It is one of 49 sections of state highway out for public consultation nationwide about speed-drop reversals, and had its limit changed to 80kmh in December 2022. There are also 38 sections of state highway automatically reverting to their previous limits.
The affected section of SH57 runs from the turnoff with SH1 to Heatherlea East Road, north-east of Levin, and runs past Speldhurst's entrance, from where 700 residents as well as visitors to the cafe there drive in and out. New development at the village means there will be more than 800 residents there soon.
Roger Parton moved to Speldhurst from Wellington about four years ago and was pleased when a year later the speed reduced on SH57 outside, which motorists use to skirt around Levin.
"There's all sorts of traffic. There's cars, B-trains. We get very wide loads through here and military vehicles, agricultural vehicles," he said.
"I think that the increase is not justified. It would just increase the risk for people coming in and out of this village."
Residents were not sitting back waiting to see what happened.
Parton is chairman of the estate's residents' association, which is making a strongly worded submission to the NZ Transport Agency, pointing out the danger of slow moving vehicles merging on to a fast highway.
"For elderly people to drive out into a road like that, it's a disaster waiting to happen.
"We haven't had any accidents in the last three years that I'm aware of but, by God, we've had some near misses."
Parton would like to see the limit at 50kmh, but would accept staying at 80kmh over a return to 100kmh.
"All I think [a rise] does is to compound the danger," he said.
"The speed limit now is 80kmh. If we put another 20kmh on that and the availability of clearance space for people turning left and right into the village is reduced because, quite simply, the traffic is moving faster."
Resident prepares to battle - again
The stretch of road was upgraded in 2022.
Further along, past a 90-degree bend, Molly Page is ready to do battle with the Transport Agency again.
Again, because back then, she had to fight to move a crash barrier so she had enough room to safely turn into her driveway without sitting in the middle of the road.
Page won that battle and plans to pen a submission opposing the speed limit reversal.
"Already now, at 80kmh, my husband and I have had people toot at us. We've had people shout at us because we've got to slow down to get off the road," she said.
"It's going to be a real disaster, it just is. 80kmh is just fine. I know they say we need to increase the speed because it's a time thing. What a load of bunkum... What's five minutes when we're talking about someone's life?"
Molly Page has fought the Transport Agency before and intends to again, in opposition to a proposed speed limit rise. Photo: RNZ / Jimmy Ellingham
The road would soon effectively be part of Levin's urban area because of planned development in the area, Page said.
"We don't want accidents. We have big trucks that come down here. If they increase the speed to 100kmh, what's going to happen? People are going to do 110kmh."
Road had 'multiple hazards'
The Horowhenua District Council is against the move to restore limits in the area to 100kmh, which is on the cards for sections of SH1 as well as SH57.
Mayor Bernie Wanden said the council had launched a Safer at 80 campaign and would submit against the rises, and the wider community supported that stance.
"To keep it at 80kmh, it's a lot safer," Wanden said.
"It's a lot safer for people to get around. The volume of traffic and the way people are driving these days means we're far better off leaving it as it is."
Wanden said lots of slow-moving agricultural vehicles used the affected sections of road too, and lowering the limits made it safer for them.
Transport Agency director of regional relationships Linda Stewart said the affected section of SH57 ran past a proposed development that would include 2500 homes, and already had hazards such as intersections, driveways and sharp corners.
The planned Ōtaki to north of Levin highway would also raise traffic volumes in the area.
"An 80kmh speed limit was implemented in December 2022 on this section of SH57 due to increased development in Levin, including new retirement villages situated along the highway.
"We are now consulting to see if there is still community support for this lowered speed limit between SH1 and Heatherlea East Road."
She said under a new government rule it was required to restore the 100kmh before July unless there was such support.
Consultation closes on 13 March and a decision on the changes is expected by early May.
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