Local
board input to development of Auckland Transport’s Interim Speed
Management Plan
File No.: CP2022/03408
Te take mō te
pūrongo
Purpose of the report
1. To
seek early local board input to the development of Auckland Transport’s
proposed interim Auckland Speed Management Plan.
Whakarāpopototanga matua
Executive summary
2. Central
government is committed to speed reductions and the ‘Vision Zero’
road safety policy and is considering implementing regulations that would
require the creation of regional speed management plans.
3. Introduction
of an interim Speed Management Plan meets the council’s direction to
Auckland Transport (AT) to reduce road deaths and serious injuries, and to
prepare to meet the proposed central government rules.
4. In
December 2021, AT advised all local boards about the development of an interim
Auckland Speed Management Plan for the period 2023-26. The plan will create a
framework for setting new speed limits and will influence plans for related
safety infrastructure across Auckland.
5. Prior
to developing the interim Speed Management Plan, AT is seeking input from local
boards, specifically to identify a list of roads in each local board area that
should be reviewed when staff develop the proposed plan.
6. The
interim Speed Management Plan will be in place between 2023 and 2026. During
2023, consultation will begin on the first ten-year plan which is expected to
be in place from 2024 to 2034.
Ngā tūtohunga
Recommendation/s
That the Maungakiekie-Tāmaki
Local Board:
a) provide
feedback on the introduction of an interim Auckland Speed Management Plan
b) provide a list of roads within the local board area that should be
reviewed when staff develop the proposed plan.
Horopaki
Context
7. AT
has made speed limit changes covering 11% of the road network, with changes to
a further 27% of the road network proposed. Each local board has received
information detailing the roads in their area where changes are proposed under
the first three phases of the Safe Speeds Programme.
8. The
Interim Speed Management Plan will continue this process of expanding
Auckland’s network of safer roads.
9. Between
March and June 2022, AT will undertake an assessment to consider feedback from
elected members, mana whenua, partners and the community against technical
considerations related to benefit, cost, and risk. Several checks will then be made, including technical and legal
reviews, and funding criteria. This work will inform the options that are
presented as part of public consultation, planned to take place in late-2022.
Auckland Council Strategic Alignment
10. Auckland
Council is committed to road safety. The Auckland Plan envisages a transport
network free of deaths and serious injuries by 2050. AT deliver the
council’s policies in relation to transport. AT developed ‘Vision
Zero for Tāmaki Makaurau’ in response to goals within the
Auckland Plan and with the council’s Planning Committee’s
direction. The interim speed management plan is a key contribution to ‘Vision
Zero for Tāmaki Makaurau’.
11. The
interim Speed Management Plan encourages safer speeds that contribute to ‘Te-Tāruke-ā-Tāwhiri:
Auckland’s Climate Plan’ by making roads safer and encouraging
greater use of more environmentally friendly transport modes, such as walking
and cycling.
Central Government Alignment: Proposed Land Transport Rule on
Setting Speed Limits
12. ‘Road
to Zero’ is New Zealand’s road safety strategy; infrastructure
improvements and speed management are its first focus areas. In 2021, Waka
Kotahi New Zealand Transport Agency consulted on a proposed new ‘Land
Transport Rule: Setting of Speed Limits 2021’.
13. The
proposed changes include requirements for local authorities to develop speed
management plans and set lower speed limits around schools to improve safety
and encourage more children to use active modes of transport.
14. Central government is considering the proposed rule and a decision
is expected in the second quarter of 2022. Waka Kotahi is expected to release a
new speed management guide at the same time as the new rule, which will include
updated safe and appropriate speed limit ranges for our roads and streets.
Under the proposed rule, AT is required to consult on speed limit changes in
accordance with the Local Government Act 2002.
Tātaritanga me ngā
tohutohu
Analysis and advice
15. Development
of an interim Speed Management Plan is a long process, and this engagement is
an early step. AT will engage with the public, other agencies and elected
members throughout 2022.
16. The
current round of local board consultation started in December 2021. In February
and March 2022, AT attended workshops with local boards and is now inviting
feedback, specifically about roads or areas where there is community demand for
safer speeds.
17. Please
note that where roads and schools are already included in conversations taking
place within Tranche 2B of the previous speed limits programme, these should
not be included in feedback on the interim Speed Management Plan.
18. Feedback
from local boards will contribute to the development of a draft Speed Management
Plan that AT will consult on in late 2022. Following public consultation, the
AT Board will finalise and approve an interim Auckland Speed Management Plan
2023-2026.
19. The
role of the local board is not to make technical decisions about speed management,
but instead to provide the community’s perspective on local concerns and
interests related to speed management.
Tauākī whakaaweawe
āhuarangi
Climate impact statement
20. Auckland
Transport engages closely with the council to develop strategies, actions, and
measures that support the outcomes sought by the Auckland Plan 2050,
Te-Tāruke-ā-Tāwhiri the Auckland Climate Action Plan, and other
council priorities.
21. Auckland
Transport’s plays a key role in providing attractive alternatives to private
vehicle travel, reducing the carbon footprint of its own operations and, to the
extent feasible, that of the contracted public transport network. The primary
climate change benefit of safe and appropriate speed limits is that they
support and encourage greater take-up of walking, cycling and micro mobility by
reducing the risk to vulnerable road users, making these modes safer and more
attractive. This supports emissions reductions.
22. Recent
surveys of town centres in which speed limits were reduced and safety
improvements introduced in the first tranche of Auckland Transport’s
speed limit changes demonstrated a link between slower speeds and more people
walking or cycling. Surveys found that 19% of local people now participate in
at least one ‘active mode’ activity (for example, walking or
cycling) more often since the projects have been completed. Increasing the
number of people choosing to walk or cycle reduces emissions.
Ngā whakaaweawe me
ngā tirohanga a te rōpū Kaunihera
Council group impacts and views
23. Auckland
Transport engages closely with the council on developing strategies, actions,
and measures to support the outcomes sought by the Auckland Plan 2050,
Te-Tāruke-ā-Tāwhiri the Auckland Climate Action Plan and other
council priorities.
Ngā whakaaweawe
ā-rohe me ngā tirohanga a te poari ā-rohe
Local impacts and local board views
24. The new Land
Transport Rule: Setting of Speed Limits 2022, once introduced, will require road
controlling authorities to:
· reduce 40% of their
school speed limits by 2024, with all reductions completed by 2030
· include their
proposed speed limit changes and safety infrastructure treatments (including
proposed safety camera placements) for the coming ten years into speed
management plans
· implement a new consultation process that aligns with the three-year
Regional Land Transport Planning (RLTP) consultation process.
25. The new rule
will remove the requirement to set speed limits through bylaws, enabling a
whole-of-network approach that considers safety-related infrastructure
improvements, speed limit changes and safety camera placement together.
26. Taken
together, these changes will have a significant impact on Auckland communities,
and on the ways that Aucklanders input into decisions around safer speed
limits.
27. In addition
to the feedback local boards are invited to provide in response to this report,
local boards will continue to be kept informed and up to date as this process
progresses.
Tauākī whakaaweawe
Māori
Māori impact statement
28. Auckland
Transport is committed to meeting its responsibilities under Te Tiriti o
Waitangi and its broader legal obligations in being more responsive to and
inclusive of Māori.
29. AT’s
Māori Responsiveness Plan outlines the commitment to 19 mana whenua iwi in
Auckland to deliver effective and well-designed transport policy and solutions.
AT also recognises mataawaka and their representative bodies and desire to
foster a relationship with them. This plan is available on the Auckland
Transport website - https://at.govt.nz/about-us/transport-plans-strategies/maori-responsiveness-plan/#about
30. Safe
speeds make our roads safer for active road users, which encourages more people
to walk, cycle and use public transport. Te Ora ō Tāmaki Makaurau is
the well-being framework developed by the Mana Whenua Kaitiaki Forum in
response to Te Tāruke-ā-Tāwhiri. Safer roads contribute to more
people walking or cycling, which in turn supports this framework developed by
Mana Whenua.
31. Waka
Kotahi’s 2021 study ‘He Pūrongo
Whakahaumaru Huarahi Mō Ngā Iwi Māori – Māori Road Safety Outcomes’ provides
data demonstrating that Māori are
disproportionately more likely to be hurt or killed on New Zealand roads. The interim
Speed Management Plan is expected to result in significant positive impacts for Auckland’s Māori
communities.
Ngā ritenga
ā-pūtea
Financial implications
32. Providing
feedback on the development of the interim Speed Management Plan has no
financial implications for local boards.
Ngā raru tūpono me
ngā whakamaurutanga
Risks and mitigations
33. Providing
feedback on the development of the interim Speed Management Plan does not
present any risks for local boards.
34. There
is a risk to Auckland Transport if the interim Speed Management Plan is not
finalised in time to meet central government requirements. This risk has been
mitigated by ensuring that development and engagement on the interim plan
begins ahead of the Minister of Transport announcing a final decision on the
proposed rule.
Ngā koringa ā-muri
Next steps
35. Local
board feedback will be used by AT to inform the development of the interim
Speed Management Plan.
36. Between
March and June 2022, Waka Kotahi will confirm that the new Land Transport Rule:
Setting of Speed Limits 2022 has been approved by the Minister of Transport.
37. Between
June and August 2022, AT will communicate to local boards how their feedback
has been taken into account in the development of a draft plan.
38. In
late 2022, AT will undertake public consultation on a draft version of the interim
Speed Management Plan. The AT Board will then consider any recommended changes
to the draft and approve an interim plan.
39. The
interim Speed Management Plan will be in place between 2023 and 2026. During
2023, consultation will begin on the first ten-year plan which is expected to
be in place from 2024 to 2034.
Ngā tāpirihanga
Attachments
There are no attachments for
this report.
Ngā kaihaina
Signatories
|
Author
|
Kat Ashmead - Senior Advisor Operations and Policy
|
|
Authorisers
|
Louise Mason - GM Local Board Services
Stephen Rainbow – Head of Community Engagement
– Central Hub, Auckland Transport
|
