Submission on Wellington speed limits 2008

First Name:                Mike 
Last Name:                 Mellor 
Street Address:            11 Newport Terrace 
Suburb:                    Seatoun 
City:                      Wellington 
Phone:                     04 388 8625 
Email:                     mike.mellor@livingstreets.org.nz 
Submitted:                 2008-04-29 22:03:32 
I would like to make an oral submission:                    Yes 
I am making this submission on behalf of an organisation 
Organisation Name:         Living Streets Aotearoa Inc

 
Happy Valley Road - 
Do you believe the existing speed limit is appropriate:     No 
If no, specify what speed limit you think is appropriate:   50 

Do you have any additional comments:
For safety and consistency the Happy Valley Rd and Ohiro Rd 50
speed limits should also include the stretch joining them,
making the whole road 50. It does not seem sensible to have 70
for just this short stretch of road, which has a growing number
of cyclists heading for the coast and the Tip Track.  

Ohiro Road - 
Do you believe the existing speed limit is appropriate:     No 
If no, specify what speed limit you think is appropriate:   50 

Do you have any additional comments:
See Happy Valley Rd comments above.

 
Hutt Road 1 - 
Do you believe the existing speed limit is appropriate:     No 
If no, specify what speed limit you think is appropriate:   50 

Do you have any additional comments:
The character of the road does not change significantly at the
Johnsonville Line railway bridge. North of there it is still a
built-up area with multiple vehicle accesses, and the current
speed limit change at the bridge is easy to miss because of
road clutter. A 50 speed limit would also help pedestrians
wanting to cross Hutt Rd to get to bus stops and Kaiwharawhara
railway station. 

Hutt Road 2 - 
Do you believe the existing speed limit is appropriate:     No 
If no, specify what speed limit you think is appropriate:   80 

Centennial Highway - 
Do you believe the existing speed limit is appropriate:     No 
If no, specify what speed limit you think is appropriate:   80

 
State Highway Two - 
Do you believe the existing speed limit is appropriate:     No 
If no, specify what speed limit you think is appropriate:   80 

Do you have any additional comments:
The current posted speed limit here is not 100 km/h - it is
whatever is set by the SH1 Ngauranga Gorge variable speed limit
signs (usually 80). The limit should be set by permanent 80
signs at the SH1 off-ramp. 

Takapu Road 1 - 
Do you believe the existing speed limit is appropriate:     No 
If no, specify what speed limit you think is appropriate:   70 

Takapu Road 2 - 
Do you believe the existing speed limit is appropriate:     No 
If no, specify what speed limit you think is appropriate:   50 

Takapu Road 3 - 
Do you believe the existing speed limit is appropriate:     No 
If no, specify what speed limit you think is appropriate:   50

 
Tawa Interchange - southbound on-ramp - 
Do you believe the existing speed limit is appropriate:     No 
If no, specify what speed limit you think is appropriate:   50 

Do you have any additional comments:
The road does not change character underneath the motorway; 50
is a more appropriate speed given the tightness of the bend and
the awkwardness of the junction at the top; a 50 limit would
help those using the footpaths from Takapu Rd station to the
industrial area and Granada North (the only reasonable
pedestrian access to both of these places), both of which cross
this busy road; having just a short 70 section for traffic
to/from the motorway would be easy to overlook and hard to
enforce.

 
Tawa Interchange - southbound off-ramp - 
Do you believe the existing speed limit is appropriate:     No 
If no, specify what speed limit you think is appropriate:   50 

Do you have any additional comments:
See on-ramp comments above.

General comments for all sections:
1. all maps should have a scale;
2. significant pedestrian and cycle routes that follow or cross
   the roads should be marked;
3. on the Takapu Rd map, North is marked incorrectly;
4. I found it confusing that submitters are asked to comment
   on the existing situation rather than on the proposal, as is
   normal practice. If others are like me, they may well have
   clicked the radio buttons above as if they referred to the
   proposed limit rather than the existing one.
5. a "General comments" section would be helpful.