Speed limit change on Kāpiti Road

The speed limit on Kāpiti Road from Arko Place to Hurley Road will be reduced from 70km/h to 50 km/h from Monday 30 November.

This change has been approved by the council due to:

• the potential danger of having a short section of road allowing 70 km/hr where the speed limit for the rest of the road is 50 km/hr (this is consistent with the national ‘Safer Journeys’ approach which promotes constant, steady speeds to improve safety, fuel efficiency and travel time)
• planned commercial developments in the area around Kapiti Airport which will mean additional entrance/exit points on that part of Kāpiti Road i.e. more drivers will be coming on/off these access points, so it will be safer if traffic is moving more slowly (road safety audits for the access points have all recommended that the 70 km/h speed limit be reduced to 50 km/h)
• more traffic on that stretch of road due to an increase in businesses in the area 
• existing crash data for that part of Kāpiti Road indicating most of the crashes have been caused by failure to give way and inattention – decreasing the speed to 50 km/h will potentially decrease the frequency of this type of crash and the severity of injuries. 

“Having one appropriate speed limit for the whole of Kāpiti Road will create a predictable and consistent environment which will ultimately be safer for everyone,” says Council’s Traffic Engineer Gary Adams.

It will be an offence under Council’s ‘Speed Limit Bylaw and Transport Rule: Setting of Speed Limits 2003’ for any person to exceed 50 km/hr on this stretch of road from 30 November 2015.

NZ Police and other emergency services, the NZ Transport Agency and community boards were consulted over this speed limit change.