Martin Connelly: South Wairarapa Mayor says speed limits are fine following bike and car collision

South Wairarapa mayor Martin Connelly says the speed limit along a stretch of Martinborough road is fine for now - despite large numbers of cyclists hopping between wineries. 

"People have never experienced in 20 years, an accident like this," Connelly said, saying he's comfortable with the road's 100km/h speed limit until he sees expert evidence suggesting otherwise. 

Yesterday a person died and three others were seriously injured after a car collided with a quadricycle on Puruatanga Road.

Many Wairarapa residents told Newstalk ZB today they believe the speed limit should be lowered. 

The road is known for tourists who hire bikes to travel short distances between wineries. One local worker said yesterday many of these cyclists are also intoxicated - although there's no suggestion this was the case in yesterday's incident.

Connelly joined Nick Mills on Wellington Mornings. 

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:07):
You're listening to the Wellington Mornings podcast with Nick Mills
from News Talks'd be.

Speaker 2 (00:12):
Joining us now is Southwire Rapper Mayor Martin Connley.

Speaker 3 (00:17):
Good morning, Martin, It's good morning neck. Now.

Speaker 2 (00:20):
This is a terrible time for your area, and we
start by offering our sympathy for all those people that
had to attend this accident. I mean there will be.
It would be a horrible feeling and a beautiful little
town right now.

Speaker 3 (00:37):
Yes, well, certainly my condolences go, particularly to the family
of the person who died. I think, however horrible it
was for the people to have to attend, it'd be
a hell of a lot more horrible to be waken
up in the middle of the night and the nighted
kingdom and told that your family member had just died.
So absolute sympathy and condolences to the injured and to

(01:03):
the family of the dead person, but considerable thanks to
the volunteer emergency workers and first responders who came and
had to deal with what was obviously a very gruesome
and unpleasant event. Martin.

Speaker 2 (01:22):
We're being absolutely flooded by texts this morning, more than
anywhere else in the country, is asking the same thing
is the speed limit just too damn high on a
stretch of road that's full of wineries and restaurants.

Speaker 3 (01:38):
Well, firstly, I think it would be overstating it to
say it's full of wineries. It has a lot of
wineries and restaurants along it, but they're all well spaced out.
This is a very long stretch of road and if
you've seen pictures off say Google Maps, you'll see that
it's a straight road. It's a very well cared for road.

(02:01):
There's a lot of visibility, there's nothing impeding people's line
of sights, and on both sides of the road there's
a very substantial runoff. So if anybody was ever in
any concern, for example, about I don't know, somebody coming
towards them too quickly, it's very easy for them to

(02:22):
there to the left and go on to the verge.

Speaker 2 (02:25):
Try telling the family in Britain that right now.

Speaker 3 (02:29):
Well, I'm happy to say it to anybody, including the
people in Britain, But until we know what actually caused
this accident, I do have to say that there's been
a couple of keyboard warriors have gone a bit crazy.
Let the police do their job, let's find out what
actually happened? I mean, was it just something as simple

(02:53):
as a tire that blew out just at the wrong time?
What happened?

Speaker 2 (02:59):
Would you? Would you say yourself, is the speed limit
too high on that street to row?

Speaker 3 (03:05):
Well, let's put it this way. Last year this this council,
along with most others, had a speed review. It was
a speed review that was directed by the previous government
and it was informed by expert advice on the safe

(03:29):
speeds to travel at around the district, and it was
also informed by submissions from people.

Speaker 2 (03:36):
So you can just get a clarification of this. Even
after what you've just seen, heard and felt over the
last twenty four hours, you still think the speed limit's
okay at one hundred k.

Speaker 3 (03:44):
There until the police come and tell us what's a
or not. But my answer is that it's been that
way for a very very long time.

Speaker 2 (03:55):
Does that mean that this way people have never experienced
in twenty years an incident like this? Okay?

Speaker 3 (04:04):
So how many my view, until we get some expert
advice to the contrary, I don't think there's any reason
to change it.

Speaker 2 (04:12):
Have you heard of the saying it's an accident waiting
to happen? And it's just happened. I mean, the other
thing is, are you concerned about the amount of cyclist
and for you know, the quad bikes and that going
up and down that street on a busy Winery day.

Speaker 3 (04:25):
No, I love it. I love it. More, the better,
more the barrier.

Speaker 2 (04:29):
And how many how many of these cyclists do you think?
And you know, I'm just asking the question as if
one of my family had just been killed in that accident.
I'm asking. That's why I'm asking. I'm not picking on you.
I'm just asking the question, how many, how many of
these cyclists on those particular days which we love, we
love those days right, are intoxicated writing from Winery to winery.

Speaker 3 (04:50):
Oh look, I couldn't tell you the answer to that,
but what I would say is that, again, it's an
unfortunate question. It implies possibly that the people who were
on the cycle were drunken and toxic. No, no, no,
I've said that, hold no evidence, Martin, Martin.

Speaker 2 (05:12):
Please make this clear. I have said from very very
first thing that the bike was just hired b they
have you know, they were going heading out. So I
have made it very clear that this group were not drinking.
But my text that are coming in, and the people
around me that work here say they see drunken people
on those bikes all the time, going from winery to winery.

(05:33):
It's a common factor. And you couldn't even deny that.
You didn't even deny it to me on the radio.

Speaker 3 (05:38):
No, I'm not the stupid. For me to the diet
was bound to have been the odd drunken cyclist. I
just point out, both for people who are listening, that
this is not a conventional too wheel cycle. This is
a vehicle that will always have to go on the road.
Most people are on too wheel cycles and they can

(05:59):
easily whip up and down.

Speaker 2 (06:00):
But search do you think Martin, that there will be
any changes because of this tragedy.

Speaker 3 (06:08):
Well, again, I'm preserving my views until I hear from
the police. But I would also add one other thing,
which is that as a result of recent speed reviews,
the speed limits on a large number of roads on
the wire Rappa were reduced from one hundred to a
smaller amount, and it was extraordinarily unpopular.

Speaker 2 (06:30):
And I get that, and I'm one of those people
that want the hundred speed limits. I absolutely agree with
you on that totally. But when you have a lot
of people, young people and not so young people in
this case using cycles or quad bikes, can going winery
to winery and it's a party zone. Also, one hundred
k's a little bit of a stretch, even for me.

(06:51):
Martin Conlelly, thank you very much for joining us this morning,
and our thoughts, our thoughts are with you while you
go through this very difficult time in Martinborough. And I
just want to know whether there will be changes out
of it. I just want to talk about mister Connor
interview a little bit. I just want to make mention
of it, is that there was no responsibility there. He

(07:13):
didn't want to. You know, I know that people in
the small towns want one hundred k limits. I know
they want to get from a to be quickly. I
get it. I'm one of those people myself. I want
that too. I want everything to be increased, But I
don't want there to be one hundred kilometer speed limit
down Courtney Place, you know where you go bar to

(07:34):
bar to bar to bar. Now, I might be overplaying, well,
he said, I was overplaying the fact that there's you know,
several wine bars and restaurants. But he didn't deny there
was this is an issue, and he downplayed, really strongly
downplayed the fact that there's a lot of drunk people celebrating,
which I'm four two. I want them to have a

(07:55):
good time. Last thing I want them to do is
go over there and be limited to three drinks and
all this rules and regulations. I don't want any of that.
But he definitely didn't sound like they're going to look
at things too strongly. You know, I was a little
bit disappointed.

Speaker 1 (08:11):
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