Today marks the first day of sweeping speed limit changes across Auckland Central, with more than 600 roads in the crowded inner city dropping speed limits down to 30km/h.
The changes are a measure to try and make the city centre safer and more accessible for vulnerable road users, including pedestrians, cyclists, and those using scooters.
“We are guided by the Vision Zero approach to transport safety, which priorities human safety over other measures like minor time savings,” says Auckland Transport 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.”
With many of the city's construction developments only recently kicking back into action, many of the impacted roads have already had their speeds hobbled; either via temporary construction zone speed limits or by a heavy increase in diverted traffic.
This isn't the first time that roads in Auckland City have had their speeds cut. In 2008 Queen Street's limit was chopped from 50km/h to 30km/h, with crash rates decreasing by 39.8 per cent and serious injuries down by 36 per cent according to data obtained 10 years later in 2018.
The new limits aren't confined specifically to Auckland CBD. New limits have also been deployed on a selection of rural roads in Rodney and Franklin districts, with some short stretches having their speed limits reduced from 100km/h and 80km/h to 40km/h.