Transport options  |  3 Sep 2019

Christchurch City Council and the NZ Transport Agency are seeking public feedback on the speed limits on roads in and around Yaldhurst.

“There have been a high number of crashes on SH73 in the Yaldhurst area, including one person killed and five people seriously injured in the last 10 years,” says Transport Agency Director Regional Relationships Jim Harland.

The Yaldhurst area has also seen a lot of development, both commercial and residential, and more pedestrians, especially around the intersection of SH73 and Sir John MacKenzie Avenue.

Mr Harland says the Transport Agency has had a lot of feedback from the local community that they want speeds in the area lowered.

The Transport Agency is consulting on extending the existing 60km/h zone on SH73 an additional 740 metres westwards to include the signalised intersection at Sir John MacKenzie Avenue.

It is also proposing to reduce the existing 70km/h section to 60km/h in Yaldhurst Village and reducing the current 100km/h zone to 80km/h zone from Yaldhurst Village to just past Old West Coast Road.

At the same time the Council is consulting on the speeds on Ryans, Pound, Hasketts and School roads. It is proposing to reduce the speeds on these roads from 70km/h or 80km/h to 60km/h.

“Improving the safety of the road network is a critical issue for the Council. We’re proposing these changes to reduce speeds at approaches to high risk intersections and maintain consistency of speed limits across the joint road network”, says Council Head of Transport Richard Osborne.

“The Council is also investigating improvements to the Ryan and Pound Road intersection, which has become much busier given it’s now a popular route for commuters heading to work in the airport area.”

The two consultations have been combined so that people wanting to make submissions on both State Highway 73 (the responsibility of the Transport Agency) and local roads (the responsibility of the Council) can do so at the same time.

Public consultation on the proposed speed limits runs until 30 September.

You can give your feedback via the Council's Have Your Say page or by emailing CanterburySNP@nzta.govt.nz. Hard copy submission forms are also available from the Council's Civic Offices in Hereford Street or from the Hornby Library.