The Joint Committee of Nelson City Council and Tasman District Council adopted the Nelson Tasman Speed Management Plan on 23 July 2024.
The amendments to the plans have been based on a change of government direction and the considerable feedback we received during the consultation phase.
This Plan is yet to be finalised with the New Zealand Transport Agency's certification process which may take several months. Once that’s done, we can start implementing the changes, beginning with some schools in February 2025. The plan may need to be altered depending on the outcome of the consultation on the ‘Setting of the Speed Rule 2024’ which is being considered by the Ministry of Transport now.
See the Speed Management Plan changes on these maps.
In summary, the following road types will have reductions in Nelson and Tasman:
- Variable limits outside school gates for urban and rural schools. Urban schools will be reduced to 30km/h at specific times (Times to be confirmed once the new Setting of Speed Rule 2024 is in place nationally). Exceptions to this will be Brightwater School (Ellis Street), Wakefield School (Edward Street), Richmond School (Cambridge Street) and Takaka Primary School (Wadsworth Street) which will be permanent 30km/h
- Narrow, winding, unsealed tortuous roads will be reduced to 60km/h
- Rural residential streets and Peri-urban streets will be reduced to 50-60kmkm/h
- Urban streets which do not have footpaths will be reduced to 30km/h
- The 100km/h sections of the Moutere Highway, Motueka Valley Highway (from Dovedale Road to the existing 80km/h), Neudorf Road and Dovedale Road (from Neudorf Road to Motueka Valley Highway) will be reduced to 80km/h
- Specified Great Taste Trail sections which have on-road cycle sections that are currently over 80km/h will be reduced to 60km/h
- Specific roads will be reduced
- Able Tasman Drive (sections)
- Aniseed Valley Road (sections)
- Chamberlain Street (sections)
- Collingwood Quay
- Collingwood-Puponga Road (sections)
- Eighty Eight Valley Road(sections)
- Fairfax Street (sections)
- Kaiteriteri-Sandy Bay Road (to Riwaka Sandy Bay Road)
- Main Road Lower Moutere
- McShane Road
- Paton Road (sections)
- Queen Victoria Street (sections)
- Riwaka-Kaiteriteri Road
- Robinson Road including Mariri RRC
- Sandy Bay-Marahau Road
- Seaton Valley Road
- Tadmor Valley Road
- Wharf Road
- Cable Bay Road
- Māori Pa Road
Read the submissions
You can read the full list of submissions here. Those who indicated that they wished to speak in support of their submission will do so before the Joint Nelson Tasman Regional Transport Committee on 29 and 30 April.
Feedback has now closed
We had feedback from over 2200 people - thanks to everyone for taking the time to share their thoughts.
Our consultation on reducing local speed limits has now closed but we need to acknowledge the change in Government policy, particularly as any changes need NZTA Waka Kotahi approval.
Councils are still able to reduce harm on our roads through speed management plans and infrastructure improvements.
The Government hasn’t set new rules for setting speed limits yet, but it has indicated a desire that, in addition to safety, the economic impacts and the views of road users and local communities should be considered when speed limits are set. This is what we are doing and we still want to hear from road users and local communities before making any final decisions.
It is fantastic to have local input so we can tailor the speed management plan to reflect what the community wants.
Based on the feedback recieved, the Joint Regional Transport Committee will make its recommendation to Tasman District and Nelson City Councils in the following months.
Consultation options
You can view the options we considered in the consultation by clicking on the links in the related pages section on the right of this page.
What’s the link between speed and safety on our roads?
Irrespective of the cause of a crash, speed is the difference between someone being unharmed or being seriously injured or killed. A small change in speed makes a big difference especially when cyclists or pedestrians are involved.
More people die on our roads per head of population than in similar countries. The current speed limits may be too high in relation to the design and features of the road. Even when people are obeying the legal limit, they may not have enough time to respond when something unexpected happens.
Impact of crashes
Setting safe speed limits to what a human body can survive is important. Setting safe speed limits where people walking and cycling mix with vehicles, like in town centres and around schools is essential to reducing death and serious injury. The social cost of crashes is estimated at $12.5 million per fatality and $660,000 per serious injury. In Nelson Tasman, 73% of fatal and serious crashes in urban areas involved cyclists, pedestrians or motorcyclists between 2013-2022). The social cost of deaths and serious injuries has been $429 million on our local roads over the past ten years. The internationally accepted speed to greatly reduce the chances of a pedestrian being killed or seriously injured is 30km/h.
Get more crash data and information for our region.
Creating a Speed Management Plan
The way speed limits are set has changed. Limits are now set through a Speed Management Plan rather than a bylaw.
A Speed Management Plan sets the direction for 10 years with an implementation plan reviewed every three years.
Tasman District and Nelson City Councils are consulting on a draft Speed Management Plan to come into force for 2024.
This is an opportunity to influence safety with input into the appropriate speeds on the whole transport system across Nelson and Tasman.
Why safe and appropriate speeds?
Safe and appropriate speeds are fundamental to improving safety, saving lives, and preventing debilitating injuries. Higher vehicle speeds increase the probability of a crash in several ways:
- By reducing the ability of a driver/vehicle to stop in time
- By reducing manoeuvrability to evade a problem
- By reducing the driver’s field of vision
- By causing other drivers to misjudge gaps
Safe and appropriate speeds are about achieving safe vehicle speeds that reflect the road’s function, design, safety, and use. People and goods need to move efficiently around our transport network and we also need to see a reduction in deaths and serious injuries on the network. Other benefits gained from the implementation of appropriate vehicle speeds include enabling more active ways in how we get to where we need to go such as letting children walk or bike to school.
