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A group of Leigh residents is taking issue with an Auckland Transport (AT) plan for a wholesale speed limit reduction throughout the town from 50 km/h to 30km/h.
The proposal is part of the latest phase of AT’s Safer Speeds programme, where the focus is on residential roads around schools.
However, many Leigh drivers say imposing a 30km/ limit on 19 roads and streets, or the entire town centre, is overkill and unnecessary.
Campaign coordinator and volunteer fireman Tony Enderby branded the scheme “crazy”, saying there had been no serious accidents or community demand to justify such a move, and it would cause delays for emergency services.
“Having been to most motor vehicle accidents around Leigh over the past 20 years, I have a pretty good idea of the causes and it’s not speed,” he said. “There has not been a car versus pedestrian or bicycle in Leigh during that time. And fire crews will have to drop their speed to callouts or drive illegally.”
Leigh Business Community president Richard Scott said, like many others in the town, the group would be more than happy with a speed reduction around the school itself, but not a blanket speed cut.
“It’s illogical. We haven’t been consulted, it’s without any reasoning and it bewilders me,” he said. “Why can’t they do the four things we have been asking for – seal Pakiri Hill, put a footpath in from Leigh to the Sawmill, create a two-way bridge at Tramcar Bay and put a ‘no thoroughfare’ over Seatoun Avenue, so people come right into Leigh when they’re on their way to Goat Island.”
Another resident pointed out that the regular trucks from Leigh Fisheries would struggle to maintain 30km/h up and down the hills into and out of town.
“Trucks will have to use their engine brakes in first gear, which will mean a heck of a lot more noise, smoke and diesel,” he said.
A petition against the plans has been placed in several local businesses, although many at a recent protest believed AT had already made its decision and local views would not be listened to.
However, AT’s senior media specialist Natalie Polley said all feedback was welcome, community engagement in the area would continue and Auckland Transport staff would be visiting Leigh to talk to the community in person in the coming weeks.
She said information about the fish trucks was just the sort of knowledge they were looking for.
“This is great localised feedback to receive,” she said. “It would be good to understand what are the most common routes for the fishery trucks in and around Leigh. This is something that our staff will be keen to discuss in person at a community session next school term.”
She said Leigh and other seaside towns were considered future risk areas for road trauma as tourism and development activity increased, and that 30km/h was considered the safe and appropriate speed around schools and residential areas.
“The data we have for the streets that have been included in this proposal around Leigh School find that the mean operating speeds on 16 of the 19 roads is less than 30km/h. In this area many of the streets are cul-de-sacs where most drivers are already comfortable driving below the current speed limit.”
She said the area-wide approach and permanent nature of the speed limit changes also reflected that often school areas were a hub for the community, with a lot of walking or cycling around them.
“Instead of just focusing on the school gate, this area-wide approach aims to encourage walking and cycling through the entire area and to prevent drivers travelling at speeds that are not appropriate for this type of residential environment, whether it’s the weekend or a few hours after school has closed,” she said.
Meanwhile, a kea crossing and school zone signage funded by Rodney Local Board is due to be installed outside Leigh School, although AT estimates it won’t be completed until April next year.
