As part of the Speed Management Review, we've categorised our rural roads.

Click on each of the tabs to read more about the different road types, see some examples and see what each of the proposed options means for them.

Rural Residential Areas

These roads are within a residential subdivision in a rural area. They may have footpaths, no road markings and cyclist share the road with other traffic. They are generally only used by residents and these residents often use these roads for fitness and recreation. The number of these rural residential areas has grown in Tasman and we have had many requests from local residents to reduce the speeds of these roads. On our interactive map, roads in the Rural Residential Areas are shown as a local road or a peri-urban road.

In 2020, Nelson Tasman Community Speed Limit Feedback, 69% of respondents thought that a speed limit of less than 50km/h is appropriate for our Rural Residential Subdivision Roads [22% agreed with 40km/h limit (397 responses), 47% agreed with 50km/h limit (855 responses), 20% agreed with 60km/h (369 responses).

Unsealed Road (Narrow or winding)

These are rural unsealed roads that could be winding and/or narrow. They don’t have road markings, edge marker posts, or warning signs and can often have visibility restricted by vegetation. Specific hazards may be identified with warning signs. There will be forestry and agricultural vehicles using these roads.

In 2020, Nelson Tasman Community Speed Limit Feedback, 91% of respondents thought that a speed limit of less than 100km/h is appropriate for our Unsealed Rural – Narrow, Winding Roads. [59% agreed with 60km/h limit (1051 responses), 32% agreed with 80km/h limit (572 responses), 9% agreed with 100km/h (154 responses)].

Totaranui Road is an example of a winding /narrow unsealed road.

High Risk Roads and Adjacent Areas

These are roads that often feed into state highways. They have good road markings and hazard warning signage, but often little or no safety features such as wide shoulders, clear zones or guardrails and can have driveways with poor visibility. They have signs for vulnerable roads users such as horses and cyclists. There are no footpaths and cyclists must share the lane with other traffic, they often have a high amount of heavy commercial traffic. Our high risk roads such as Korere-Tophouse Road and the Moutere Highway have had a higher number of crashes than other roads. Reduced speeds on these roads may lead to alternative local roads being used which are not at the same standard as the likes of Korere-Tophouse Road and Moutere Highway. This may lead to fewer crashes on the high risk roads but more occurring on the adjacent roads. Therefore in order to reduce potential accidents overall, high risk roads and their adjacent areas have been treated the same. Tasman's high risk rural roads are listed below. (Note: State Highways are not part of this consultation).

Please note that this is not a complete list of all adjacent roads, refer to the online maps for exact details.

Sealed Roads - Winding/Narrow

These roads have a range of traffic volumes and are often used for commuting, agricultural activity and recreation. These roads are sealed, but narrow, with one lane bridges and rural school bus routes. They have property accesses that can have poor visibility.

In 2020, Nelson Tasman Community Speed Limit Feedback, 81% of respondents thought that a speed limit of less than 100km/h is appropriate for our Narrow Sealed Roads. [32% agreed with 60km/h limit (580 responses), 49% agreed with 80km/h limit (891 responses), 19% agreed with 100km/h (341 responses).

Straight Unsealed Roads

These are wider rural unsealed roads that are mostly straight with some large curves. There are no road markings, edge marker posts or warning signs. There will be forestry and agricultural vehicles using these roads.

In 2020, Nelson Tasman Community Speed Limit Feedback, 87% of respondents thought that a speed limit of less than 100km/h is appropriate for our Straight Unsealed Roads. [44% agreed with 60km/h limit (785 responses), 44% agreed with 80km/h limit (788 responses), 13% agreed with 100km/h (227 responses).