Completed – Speed Management Plan 2023–33

This project was archived on 4 December 2023.

Following consultation and amendment our first Speed Management Plan [PDF 3.68 MB] for the Kāpiti Coast has been adopted by councillors.

The Speed Management Plan provides a three-year implementation programme for ‘high-benefit areas’ identified by Waka Kotahi – school zones, areas where there are high concentrations of active roads users such as town centres and marae, and road corridors.

It also includes options for how the transport network could look in the longer term to achieve safe and appropriate speeds on Kāpiti roads.

Initial work to implement the plan for high-benefit areas is in the early stages.

The Land Transport Rule: Setting of Speed Limits 2022 requires road controlling authorities to develop Speed Management Plans.

What is in the plan?

This Speed Management Plan has two parts:

• Part A covers what we’ll do before the end of 2027 – the high-benefit areas.
• Part B covers what we plan to do beyond 2027, subject to further community consultation.

We’ll be taking a staged approach to implementing the plan, with an initial focus on the high-benefit areas:

• streets around schools
• urban connector road corridors
• areas where there are high concentrations of active roads users, such as town centres, and marae.

 We are not:

• changing speed limits on State Highways as these are the responsibility of Waka Kotahi.
• changing speed limits along the entire length of urban connector roads such as Kāpiti Road, Mazengarb Road, Te Moana Road and Mill Road.

Over the years we have received requests from the community for traffic-calming measures and lower speed limits for specific areas and individual streets.

Where a request aligned with a high-benefit area it has been included in the three-year implementation plan. Otherwise, there is an opportunity for these to be considered for inclusion in future speed management plans.

Council welcomes ongoing feedback from the community on issues on our road network.

Additional consultation - Paekākāriki

During consultation there was a strong submission made to extend a 30km/h limit to a 1km radius of Paekākāriki School.

This was not an option in the original consultation so Council will test making the whole of Paekākāriki 30km/h with the local community and stakeholders before finalising plans for the village.

The submission was prepared by the Paekākāriki Community Board and endorsed by Paekākāriki School, Paekākāriki Playcentre, Paekākāriki Scouts and 82 individuals.

To learn more and contribute to this discussion visit haveyoursay.kapiticoast.govt.nz.

Implementation

'Part A' - What we’ll implement up to the end of 2027 – high benefit areas:

'Part B' - What we are planning to implement beyond 2027

The second part of our Speed Management Plan covers what we plan to do beyond 2027 to meet Waka Kotahi requirements. This will be a potential step change towards implementing safe and appropriate speeds on the Kāpiti Coast and will be guided in part by community feedback.

Reaching the end state will take some time and will be the subject of future Speed Management Plans.

The challenge for the Kāpiti Coast is to identify how and when we will get to the ‘end state’ and applying the lessons learned from implementing the plan in the different stages.

At this point we are:

• proposing to install traffic-calming devices on relevant roads where infrastructure is required to complement safe and appropriate speed limits.
• not proposing to install traffic-calming devices on all roads.

Community feedback on four proposed options showed a strong community preference for two, particularly the first of the below:

• Road corridors (option 3): Install infrastructure along road corridors to reduce travel speeds and/or to provide opportunities for pedestrians and cyclists to cross safely - for example pedestrian refuges or extend kerbs at intersections to slow the entry and exit speeds of vehicles. These road corridors are classified as urban connectors and include The Parade, Mazengarb Road, Arawhata Road, Kapiti Road, Te Moana Road, Park Avenue, Aotaki Street, Waerenga Road and Mill Road.
• Expand school zones (option 1): Extend the existing speed-limit buffer around schools to 1km for primary schools and 2.25km approx. for high schools. This is the distance that most students are prepared to walk or cycle.

Concept plans for these options will be developed for further consultation when the process for reviewing the Speed Management Plan commences in 2025.

Why variable or permanent?

Variable limits are installed on roads adjoining schools where significant increases in traffic (vehicle, cycle, and pedestrian) are generated immediately before and after school. During other periods, volumes of all traffic are low.

Permanent limits are installed on roads adjoining schools where additional traffic (vehicle, cycle, and pedestrian) is generated continuously by adjacent land uses (for example, shops, transport hubs, or car parks).

Consultation

The community and stakeholders were invited to submit on the draft Speed Management Plan between 24 April and 9 June 2023.

During consultation we received over 400 submissions covering a range of feedback on the draft plan, including from those who thought it went too far and others who thought not far enough.

There was strong support for lowering the speed limits around schools to 30km/h and in some cases installing traffic calming or other safety infrastructure.

Following consultation, 12 of the 29 proposals have been amended.

Review

The Speed Management Plan will be reviewed every three years.

This will allow the inclusion of requests for speed management infrastructure in the Wellington Regional Land Transport Plan funding bids. The first deadline for funding bids is September 2023.

As a result:

• the deadline for this Speed Management Plan, to be finalised is September 2023. This will enable the inclusion of speed-related infrastructure in the 2024–27 Regional Land Transport Plan that signals to Waka Kotahi the projects for which the region is seeking funding.
• planning for the review of the plan for inclusion in the 2027–30 Regional Land Transport Plan is likely to start in 2025 or early 2026 to meet the estimated September 2026 deadline.