20 Feb 2025

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Seven roads in Christchurch and Banks Peninsula need to have their speed limits increased.

 The Government’s new Land Transport Rule: Setting of Speed Limits 2024 Rule requires Christchurch City Council to reverse permanent speed limit reductions on specified roads.

The specified roads include local streets which the Council set a 30km/h speed limit after January 2020 because there is a school in the area, or an urban connector street which previously had a higher limit.

“We have looked at all streets across Christchurch and Banks Peninsula which meet those criteria and found seven where the limit needs to be automatically increased,” Transport Operations Manager Stephen Wright said.

Streets where the speed limit need to be increased:

  • Western Valley Road between Christchurch Akaroa Road and 72 Western Valley Road
  • Gloucester Street between Linwood Avenue and Woodham Road
  • Ruru Road between Hay Street and Maces Road
  • Claremont Avenue between Paparoa Street and Tomes Road
  • Rose Street between Hoon Hay Road and Barrington Street
  • Lyttelton Street between Sparks Road and Rose Street
  • Colombo Street between Hunter Terrace and 129 Colombo Street

The limits need to be increased by 1 July 2025 and a report will be considered by the Council in March. 

“Western Valley Road, Rose Street and Lyttelton Street all have schools on them, so we’ll be proposing to the Council that we install 30km/h variable speed limits,’ Mr Wright said.

“We’re also starting work on all the other schools in Christchurch and Banks Peninsula which have speed limits that don’t comply with the requirements in the Rule.”

The Council has until 1 July 2026 to set speed limits around all schools.

“We’ll be working closely with schools and their communities to identify roads outside school gates and set school travel times,” Mr Wright said. 

Changes to speed limits which were approved through the Council’s Interim Speed Management Plan will not go ahead and work will also stop on the Draft Safer Speed Plan.