“Imagine an Aotearoa where everyone can get to where they’re going safely. Where it’s safe to drive to work and home again or visit whānau and friends. Where it’s safe to ride bikes and let tamariki walk to school. Where transport improves our health and wellbeing, creating live-able places for our communities.”
Speed and Infrastructure, Waka Kotahi
We believe strongly in the beautiful vision of a Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland that is people-friendly, accessible, and safe. When tamariki (children) are laughing as they walk and cycle to kura (school) on the 30km/hr streets, it can almost feel real. And, with the approval of Katoa Ka Ora, Auckland’s Speed Management Plan, committing to more safety for local kura, marae, and residential streets, for a moment it really felt like this vision could soon be our reality.
But this wonderful progress towards people-friendly streets has been unceremoniously stalled by Transport Minister Simeon Brown’s new “Land Transport Rule: Setting of Speed Limits Rule 2024”. The speed rule will impose blanket speed limit increases on our communities by mid 2025, making streets near schools more dangerous for our tamariki – and anyone else traveling along them. It includes no room for consideration of local contexts, levels of community support, or adverse effects on safety.
Around 55 more Aucklanders will be killed and seriously injured on the road over the next two years as a result of raising these speeds. This is despite the overwhelming evidence that deaths and serious injuries are highly expensive for our economy. And despite 7 of 10 New Zealanders being supportive of lowering speeds around schools to increase road safety.
It’s important the Central Government hears from all of us how harmful their Speed Rule will be, and how much we love our 30km/hr streets.
What we’ve been up to….
- Cosigned this letter (alongside All Aboard, Brake, and Living Streets Aotearoa) to Auckland Transport to raise concerns about Auckland Transport’s proposed approach to implementing the Rule, and to encourage Auckland Transport to take a more proactive approach to defending its safe speeds programme.
- Held a Ghost Bikes Installation on World Day of Remembrance (Nov 17, 2024) for Road Traffic Victims, drawing attention to the further deaths and serious injuries that will result from reversing the safer speeds laws
- Printed and distributed 180 fliers encouraging people to have their say
- Connected with other advocacy organisations and community groups to encourage their advocacy on the Speed Rule as well.
- Held a small event “Mourning the Future Fallen” (in July 2024 at the same time as other cycling advocates in Pōneke Wellington) and gave out fliers to curious passers-by. Media release here.
- Presented to the July 2024 Transport and Infrastructure Committee urging their opposition to the Speed Rule (at 19.46 in this video). The Council voted in favour of their submission being largely in opposition to the Speed Rule.
- Shared this video before presenting to the Transport and Infrastructure committee to highlight our advocacy about the Speed Rule.
- Posted this article about the presentations and Council’s decision from the July 2024 Transport and Infrastructure Committee meeting.
- Sent the Auckland Councillors an email to thank them for standing up for safety and accessibility, including a link to the above article for their interest
- Shared about the Speed Rule with our community of Bike Burbs, who have a total social media membership of 19,000
- Posted this lovely blog piece about how kids want to travel
- Posted a Quickfire guide including links to other organisations’ submission guides
- Shared this media release response and position statement
- Arranged this 1News interview which aired on TV 1 news at 6 on Friday 28 June
- Appeared in this Hibiscus Coast article
