John MacDonald: Who should set the speed limit on your street?

Even though the air temperature was down around the minus-4 mark in Canterbury this morning, there would have been no shortage of muppets driving as if it’s the middle of summer. 

You know, the speed limit’s 50kph or 80kph or 100kph and that’s the speed I’m going to go.  

Don’t worry about the fact that there’ll be some other clowns driving around with their windscreens still frosted over. Or people driving east into that low winter sun, struggling to see what’s coming towards them. 

Only problem is —and this isn’t limited to days like today— is how confident we can be that we know what the speed limit actually is whenever we’re driving somewhere. 

Once upon a time, you’d be driving around town and you’d pretty much know it was 50 kph. And then, once you got onto the open road, it was 100. 

I know there were things like Limited Speed Zones, but I think we can agree that it was much clearer what speeds we were expected to be travelling at. 

These days, it can be a guessing game. I know the NZTA people would probably poo-poo that and say ‘it’s very clear what the speed expectations are’.  

But tell that to the person I know who was pinged for speeding just outside Motueka a couple of summers ago. 

It looked like a 100 kph zone. Felt like a 100 kph zone. But wrong! It was an 80 kph zone. Nevertheless, I’m not in favour of this one-size-fits-all approach the Government wants to take. 

I get that the Government wants to deal-to the confusion that there can be about what speed limits apply where, by reversing some of the changes brought-in under the previous administration. Essentially, back to what they were four years ago.  

This would include having “variable speed limits” around schools. So, instead of it being 30 kph outside schools all the time, the Government wants to make it 30 kph during school drop-off and pick-up times, and 50 kph the rest of the time.  

And, not surprisingly, there is push-back coming from local councils, who say they know best when it comes to setting speed limits in their areas. 

Auckland Council has already put it to a vote. 18 councillors don’t want the Government poking its nose-in and raising speed limits. And only three Auckland councillors do. A pretty overwhelming rejection. 

Meantime, here in Canterbury, the Christchurch City Council is starting to flex its muscles too, saying that bringing-in variable speed limits around schools would require it to spend about $7 million of ratepayer money on new signs that could show different speed limits at different times. 

Councillor Sara Templeton is in the news today saying that local communities have asked the council time-and-time-again to make streets safer and, if the Government thinks it can just go holus-bolus and put in a 50 kph speed limit everywhere, then it’s ignoring what the local people want.   

She says people who support lower speed limits are always accused of being “ideologically driven”, which she rejects. 

According to Councillor Templeton, it’s the people who want to increase speed limits who are the ones driven by ideology. Because —by her definition— ideology is “opinions with no evidence”. 

The question to consider in all of this, though, is who knows best when it comes to setting speed limits. Is it the Government in Wellington? Or is it the people on-the-ground locally? Your local councils. 

The people who get their ears chewed all the time about unsafe roads outside schools. Hoons causing trouble on Saturday nights. That sort of thing. 

So it’s a no-brainer, isn’t it? Well, for me, it is. 

What makes Wellington think it can se

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:06):
You're listening to the Canterbury Morning's Podcast with John McDonald
from news Talk ZB.

Speaker 2 (00:13):
Even though the temperature has been down around the minus
for mark this morning, probably colder than that further inland.
Despite all that, I bet there's been no shortage of
muppets driving as if it's the middle of summer. You
know the speedlum, it's fifty k's you know, depending where
you are, or eighty k's or a hundred k's and
that's a speed limit. I'm going to go and I'm
doing one hundred k's because I'm allowed to. Yeah, I

(00:36):
don't worry about the fact that there will be some
other clowns driving around with their windscreens still frosted over,
or people driving east into that low winter sun struggling
to see what's coming towards them. You know, don't worry
there might be a bit of black ice. The only
problem is, and this isn't limited today's like today. The

(00:59):
only problem is, even if you're a muppet, how confident
are you that you know what the speed limit actually
is whenever you're driving somewhere. You know, once upon a
time you would be driving around town and you'd pretty
much know that it was fifty ks and then once
you got onto the open road it was one hundred.
I know that were things like remember this is stuck

(01:22):
in my brain from doing the road code one hundred
years ago. I know there were things like limited speed zones.
But I think generally we can agree, can't we that
it was much clearer what speeds we were expected to
be traveling at. These days, it can be a guessing
game now. I know the NZTA people would say, or

(01:42):
would probably poo poo that and say, it's all very
clear what the speed expectations are. But tell that to
the person I know who was pinged for speeding just
outside Mortweka a couple of years ago. A couple of
summers ago, looked like a hundred K zone felt like
one hundred K zone. It was an eightyk sone. Nevertheless,
I'm not in favor of this one size fits all

(02:06):
approach that the government wants to take with speed limits.

Speaker 1 (02:11):
Now.

Speaker 2 (02:12):
I get that the government wants to deal to the
confusion that there can be about what the speed limit
actually is in different areas by reversing some of the
speed limit changes brought in under the previous administration. So
essentially the Transport Minister, saying that he wants to raise
speed limits to what they were four years ago, and

(02:33):
this would include having what's called variable speed limits around
school So instead of it being thirty ks outside schools
all the time, the government wants to make thirty k's
during school drop off and pickup times and fifty ks
the rest of the time. And not surprisingly, there is
pushback coming today from guess who who local councils who

(02:55):
say they know best when it comes to setting speed
limits in their areas. And on this occasion, I'm agreeing
with the councils. I'm supporting their pushback. Auckland Council they've
already put it to a vote yesterday. Eighteen counts, eighteen
councilors cheek the numbers. No, eighteen councilors don't want the

(03:15):
government poking its nose in and raising speed limits, and
only three Auckland councilors do so, pretty overwhelming rejection. And
here in Canterbury, christi At City Council is starting to
flex its muscles too, saying that bringing in variable speed limits,
for example, around schools, would require it to spend about
seven million dollars of rate payer money on new signs

(03:36):
science it could charge different speed limits at different times
and Councilor Sarah Templeton's in the news today saying that
local communities have asked the council time and time again
and this won't be limited to christ Church, but she
says local communities have asked the council time and time
again to make streets safer and if the government thinks
it can just go hooless bowlers and put in the

(03:56):
fifty kid speed limit everywhere, then it's ignoring what the
local people want. She says, people who support lower speed
limits are always accused of being quote ideologically driven, which
she rejects, by the way, because according to Councilor Templeton,
it's the people who want to increase speed limits who
are the ones driven by ideology, because by her definition,

(04:19):
ideology is quote opinions with no evidence, end of quote.
So make of that what you will. The question, though,
to consider in all of this, is who knows best
when it comes to setting speed limits. Is it the
government in Wellington or is it the people on the
ground locally, your local council, the people who get you know,

(04:41):
the council laws, the people who get their heirs tued
all the time about unsafe roads outside schools, home's causing
trouble and saiday nights this sort of thing. So it's
a no brainer, isn't it. It is for me what
makes Wellington think it consider a blanket speed limit that
will be appropriate everywhere? I mean, as christ which council

(05:02):
is sera templan saying today quote for a government that
talked about locallyst and councils taking responsibility for their communities
at the last election, they sure are mandating a lot
of stuff from Wellington, end of quote. And I couldn't
agree with her more. And I couldn't agree more with
those eighteen Auckland councilors who voted in favor of telling

(05:23):
the government to bud out when it comes to setting
speed limits.

Speaker 1 (05:27):
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