All Aboard Aotearoa, Walk Auckland, Living Streets Aotearoa, Bike Auckland, and Brake, the road safety charity, have provided Auckland Council’s Transport, Resilience and Infrastructure Committee members with a Briefing Paper covering the critical risks, avoidable errors and safety implications relating to Auckland Transport’s interpretation of the Speed Rule and its approach to reversing over 1400 safe speeds. You can find the Briefing Paper below.
This situation of AT’s own making demands a decisive and urgent response from Elected and Houkura members to avert impending harm to the people of Auckland and restore public confidence in council’s decision-making.
This paper has been prepared by experts and advocates who, since early March, have been intensively reviewing and analysing – on a pro bono basis – AT’s approach to the Speed Rule, in the knowledge that other cities have found a more pragmatic and reasonable approach to ensure the best outcome for their residents. AT has largely chosen to ignore and minimise the less harmful options available, until it is almost too late. Public awareness and concern continues to grow as unnotified speed increases appear across the city.
There is overwhelming evidence that AT’s flawed approach to the Rule and its rushed rollout of reversals back to unsafe speeds, against the wishes of impacted communities, will result in harm to Aucklanders, wasteful expenditure, unnecessary disruption, higher costs and more extensive traffic management processes (more road cones!), environmental and economic damage, and a less efficient, more congested transport network.
We have undertaken this work because AT should have done so, but, concerningly, has not. Since the Speed Rule was notified on 30 September 2024, at no point has AT publicly briefed Auckland Council on its planned approach to the Rule, nor on:
- the implications for the efficiency and safety of the transport system of such a widespread reversal of safe speeds
- the potential conflicts between the Rule and the primary legislation relating to AT’s responsibilities
- the options available to mitigate the negative impacts of the Rule.
Throughout, AT’s approach has been characterised by a lack of transparency and a failure to act in the public interest. AT has not communicated adequately with the public about the safety impacts, nor has it been transparent about its decisions during the reversal process including why AT has quietly removed some streets but not others from the list of reversals.
Auckland Council should also be deeply concerned that AT’s rollout is wasteful, chaotic and harmful. This is documented in the Briefing paper, including photos of trip hazards as a result of shoddy work and upside down, inaccurate, illegible and confusing signage. Note that these examples are just a few of many.
Council’s urgent intervention is required at this critical moment. We beg them not to wait for the first life-changing injury or fatality to occur. Now is the time to bring AT into line and take control of Auckland’s response to the Speed Rule – so Aucklanders can regain trust that their Council is working with their best interests at heart.
