FAQs

Council is reviewing its speed management plan to comply with the 2023 and 2024 updates to the Land Transport Rule: Setting of speed limits, and to reflect community feedback on speed limits.

The review will focus on changing the speed limits of roads where the community feedback has been consistent that speed limits have been reduced in 2022 are too far for the travelling environment, or that a speed reduction should be considered for areas that were not reduced.

During the last speed review in 2022, Council agreed on some Speed Management Principles, which we use to assess what limits should be applied where. These speed limits are guiding principles, and each adjustment is made on a case-by-case basis and other individual features of each road also impact our decision making:

The review of the speed limits focuses on the following roads:

Curran Road (Dunns Road to Otatara Road) 

Proposal change -  raise speed limit from 60km/h to 80km/h.

There has been feedback that we didn’t get it right on this local rural road when the  speeds were reduced from 100 km/h in 2022 and that an increase would bring these back into alignment with similar rural local roads in line with Council’s speed limit principles

McQuarrie Street (Chesney Street to Rockdale Road).(80 currently):

Proposal change - reduce the speed limit from 80km/h to 60km/h.

 There has been community concern around safety on this road.  This proposed change would align with Council’s speed limit principles which identifies 60 km/h as an appropriate speed for rural local roads where there are high community safety concerns.

Retreat Road (McIvor Road to Bainfield Road), and Bainfield Road (Queens Drive to new Inverurie Drive intersection):

Proposal change - due to the land use change in the area as a result of the Inverurie residential subdivision. The current speed limit is 60km/h, but this may change as a result of consultation.

Esk St between Dee St and Kelvin St has been operating as a shared zone. To make this clear for the community, and to enable effective enforcement, this will be added to the Roading and Traffic Bylaw 2022.   

In addition, work is coming to completion on the Wachner Place redesign (Esk St West between Leven St and Dee St). Specification of a shared zone is necessary in order to control access for buses only and to support pedestrian safety in the area.

Shared Zones restrict on how vehicles may use a road space. Within Shared Zone areas, vehicles may not stop or be parked except in specifically excluded areas (marked car parks).  The types of vehicles, the hours of access, ways vehicles and people will interact and other restrictions can also be specified.

Speed is enforced by the New Zealand Police, they use a range of tools to do so, including, but not limited to cameras, high visibility patrols and traffic stops. They can issue infringement notices at their discretion. More information about how they manage speed and their road safety campaigns can be found here Speed limits, cameras and enforcement | New Zealand Police

1. Consultation: The proposed speed limits are made available for public feedback, allowing community members to share their views and concerns.
2. Review submissions and amend the plan: Feedback received during consultation is reviewed, and speed limit plans may be amended to address community concerns or incorporate new information.
3. Council endorsement and adoption: The final speed limit plan is presented to the Council for endorsement and adoption.
4. Certification and implementation: The speed limit plan is submitted to the NZ Transport Agency for certification. Once certified, the changes are implemented, which may involve installing new signage and updating the National Speed Limit Register.

If you want to raise a concern about a speed limit in our district you can log a request for service via our Customer Services Team. you can do this:

In person at Te Hīnaki – Council Administration Building or Bluff Service Centres, 

Via phone by calling (03) 21 11777

Online at My Invercargill (icc.govt.nz)

If you have any questions regarding this speed review, or the proposed clarification of shared zones on Esk Street, you can contact us via email: Policy@icc.govt.nz

Accessible versions of all of our documentation are available on request to policy@icc.govt.nz or via phone, 03 2111777, or in person at 101 Esk Street.

The easiest way to submit is online, using the form on this page. Alternatively, you can pick up a submission form and drop one off at Te Hīnaki Civic Building, Invercargill Libraries & Archives, Bluff Service Centre, or you can also email the Policy Team at Policy@icc.govt.nz