Speed limits in central Auckland are coming down in a big way on June 30.
More than 600 roads are being reclassified and 30 is the magic number. Most central-city speed limits will be reduced from 50km/h to 30km/h, with the exception of a few major multi-lane routes such as Nelson, Hobson and Fanshawe Streets, which will be reduced to 40km/h.
Some shared streets (such as Federal, next to Sky City) will continue to have a 10km/h limit.
To see an interactive map of the Auckland CBD with old and new limits juxtaposed, click here.
The reductions are part of the Auckland Transport (AT) Safe Speeds programme, which will also extend to some rural roads in Rodney and Franklin.
The revised Auckland limits reflect the number of pedestrians, cyclists and scooters in the central city says AT, and are designed to make crashes “survivable”.
“We are guided by the Vision Zero approach to transport safety, which priorities human safety over other measures like minor time savings,” says AT executive general manager of safety, Bryan Sherritt.
“Setting safe and survivable speeds for our road network is the quickest and most cost-effective way to immediately reduce death and serious injury.”
“Setting safe speed limits is just one part of a significant road safety investment between 2018 and 2028.”
In rural areas, some short stretches of 100km/h and 80km/h road are also being reduced to 40km/h.
AT says these changes reflect the number of road deaths or serious injuries in Franklin (89) and Rodney (108) between 2014-18.