Consultation is closing soon on a draft Interim State Highway Speed Management plan and Waka Kotahi is seeking Northland’s views now on these proposals.

Consultation is a key focus under New Zealand’s Road to Zero road safety strategy, which aims to set safer speed limits around all New Zealand’s schools by the end of 2027. Waka Kotahi is focused on ensuring our younger generations have the freedom to walk, bus or bike to school by setting safer speed limits.

Christine Gilmore, Principal of Umawera School in Northland, says that lowering speeds will make students feel safer and make a huge difference to their community.

“I’m rapt about this proposal to lower the speed limit outside our school. We’ve looked at changing the entrance way to make it safer, but this wasn’t able to happen. Variable signs were put up which are lit up at peak periods. Lowering speeds past the school will help even more.”

Northland is just one of the regions covered in the plan, which proposes new speed limits on parts of the state highway network, including speeds around over 260 schools and some marae across the motu.

Umawera School is one of the schools on the road corridors currently under review to have a safer speed limit in place.

“Our school is located on State Highway 1. At the moment we have school buses going past, parents dropping kids off who don’t live within the bus range, and logging trucks that speed past to get up the hill on the opposite side.”

“The school buses often drop the kids on the roadside. With trucks going past at pace, it sometimes feels as if we are waiting for an accident to happen,” said Christine Gilmore.

People can access information on the Interim State Highway Speed Management Plan and submit feedback by visiting the Waka Kotahi website: www.nzta.govt.nz/ISMP

Alternatively, consultation information sheets are available at local libraries and community centres.

Public consultation closes at 5pm, 12 December 2022.

We have a vision of zero deaths and serious injuries on New Zealand roads. Learn more about:

· Road to Zero - our plan to achieve this vision

· Our vision – video explaining Road to Zero and what we’re trying to achieve

• What Waka Kotahi is doing to support Road to Zero

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