Speed limit “commonsense” prevails

The mood of many east Auckland motorists over the past week is best summed up by Maurice Williamson when he says: “Commonsense returns to the Pakuranga Highway.”

Williamson, the Howick ward Auckland councillor, Auckland Transport director and former Pakuranga MP, was happily observing the busy Pakuranga arterial road as speed limit signs were being altered.

Alongside him was equally happy Pakuranga MP, Simeon Brown, the former Transport Minister and now Health Minister.

“This past Saturday was a special moment, standing on the side of Pakuranga Road as workmen changed all the 50km/h speed-limit signs back to 60km/h, a limit they’d been at for many years,” Williamson says.

“In the mid-1990s, when serving as MP for Pakuranga and Minister of Transport, it was clear to me that 50km/h on the six-lane arterial Pakuranga Road was a ridiculous speed limit. Nobody abided by the crazy limit.

“We set about a very long-winded process to have the speed limit raised to 60km/h, the speed the vast majority of drivers were already driving at.

“Transport officials used measuring equipment and found the average speed, when there was no congestion, was 68.5km/h.

“I put pressure on the road controlling authority at the time and eventually got them to increase the speed limit to 60km/h.

“What was interesting is the average speed driven dropped by nearly 3km/h to 65.7km/h. The traffic didn’t go faster, it actually went a bit slower,” says Williamson.

“It appears drivers will abide by a law that’s sensible but ignore it if it’s totally ridiculous.”

Brown says he welcomes Auckland Transport (AT) confirmation for speed limit changes on key arterial roads in Auckland, enabling motorists “to get to where they want to go, quickly and safely”.

“AT has confirmed that Labour’s blanket speed limit reduction on Pakuranga Road will reverse, while the reduction on Te Irirangi Drive has already been reversed, with new signs in place.

“These changes follow our Government’s new sensible speed limit rule, which reverses Labour’s blanket speed limit reductions.

“Our Government campaigned on reversing Labour’s blanket speed limit reductions on local streets and key arterial roads.

“These changes strike a balance by ensuring slower speed limits outside schools during pick-up and drop-off times, rather than slowing everyone down during other times of the day,” Brown says.

Williamson says upon returning from his posting as New Zealand’s Consul General to the United States, he was “shocked to find the Labour Government of the day had decided to set the speed limit on Pakuranga Road back to the old 50km/h, as part of blanket reductions across the city”.

“Drivers who use this road every day know it can be safely driven at higher speeds.

“I was delighted the National Party campaigned heavily in the 2023 election to reverse the blanket speed limit reductions, including on major roads in our area.

“I particularly want to commend our local MP Simeon Brown, who was the Minister of Transport that delivered the speed setting rule change allowing our roads to go back to commonsense speed limits.

“For many of you that regularly drive the highway, not much will change, but at least now what you do will be legal again,” Williamson says.

Over the past week the speed-limit reversal programme has involved sign changes to Howick ward streets: Aviemore Drive, Cascades Road, Te Irirangi Drive, Botany Road, Harris Road, Smales Road, Springs Road, Ti Rakau Drive, Stancombe Road, Accent Drive, Murphys Road, Chapel Road and Ormiston Road.