Levin state highway speed limit: NZTA receives 800 submissions on dropping speeds

By Jimmy Ellingham of RNZ Transport officials are combing through hundreds of submissions about proposals for a full U-turn on state highway speed limits near Levin. The previous Labour-led Government in 2020 dropped speeds from 100km/h to 80km/h on SH1 south of the Horowhenua town and on SH57 near the town, past the old Kimberley Centre, a psychiatric institution. Now, Speldhurst, a large retirement village, has its main entrance on that stretch of road, where motorists between Wellington and Manawatū avoid going through Levin. The drop to 80km/h was reversed last year, as the current Government upped speeds on many sections of highway that were previously lowered. But NZ Transport Agency Waka Kotahi (NZTA) has undertaken public consultation on a reversal to 80km/h for the roads near Levin, saying it was doing so because of community concerns. Consultation closed on April 9 and transport agency regional relationships director Linda Stewart said it received about 800 submissions for the proposed SH57 change and 600 for the proposed SH1 change, between Ōhau and Manakau. It was too early to say which option the submissions favoured. “We are currently analysing the submissions and will announce a decision in the coming months,” Stewart said. “The decision will consider community feedback alongside technical assessments, crash history and a cost-benefit analysis.” Stewart said consultation was an essential part of the decision-making process. Speldhurst Residents Committee chairman Roger Parton said many of the submissions about SH57 might have come from the village’s 720 residents. “I’ve been whipping them along,” he said. There had been one fatal crash on the stretch of highway since speed limits went back up, after there were none in the five years of the lower speed limit. Parton said there were also several near misses, making residents entering or leaving the village nervous. Some waiting to turn right into the driveway had even reported getting overtaken by fast-moving vehicles. “They go out there with some trepidation, because they don’t know what’s coming.” Horowhenua Mayor Bernie Wanden and the local council last year campaigned to keep the speeds at 80km/h, although most submissions then were in favour of the rise. – RNZ

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