The AA is disappointed that Hamilton City Council did not listen to public concerns over the ongoing reductions of speed limits throughout the city.

The council yesterday pushed ahead with a modified third wave of changes in its Safer Speed Areas project, which will see many streets reduce to 40kph speed limits.

The council did not go ahead with proposed speed limit changes in some areas due to local opposition, but chose not to look at the wider issues that many submitters raised during recent public consultation about the overall speed limit setting philosophy used in the city.

The AA surveyed a random sample of 2579 of our Hamilton Members to inform our submission and the responses showed considerable opposition to the project.

The survey results showed that:

• 67% of AA Members opposed most streets in Hamilton becoming 40kph, with only 28% supporting this idea.
• 64% of AA Members say they have been more confused by speed limits since the last changes in March
• 78% of AA Members wanted Hamilton City Council to either delay or stop making any further speed limit changes, or put things back the way they were.

“It was extremely disappointing that the council chose to not look at the concerns the AA and other submitters raised during consultation,” says AA Vice President Trevor Follows.

“The AA wants to make it absolutely clear that we do support lower speed limits in appropriate locations and some of the changes in the Safer Speed Areas project are working well. But some of them aren’t and the council needs to listen to what the public are telling them about this.”

“Unfortunately the council has chosen to forge ahead in a piecemeal fashion which will only lead to more people being confused about what speed they are supposed to be driving at.

“Common sense would have been to not implement any further changes until after they had addressed the public’s concerns.”

For more information contact:

Trevor Follows
AA Vice President
New Zealand Automobile Association
M. 021 865500

Dylan Thomsen
Communications Adviser
New Zealand Automobile Association
M. 027 703 9935
E. dthomsen@aa.co.nz

The New Zealand Automobile Association is an incorporated society with over one million members. It represents the interests of road users who collectively pay over $2 billion in taxes each year through fuels excise, road user charges and GST.