The Government is scrapping plans for 29 speed bumps on state highways, as motorists complain about the severity of three of them in Ōhaupō.
Simeon Brown
“Kiwis are sick of seeing money go into expensive speed bumps while the roads aren’t being maintained to the standard they expect,” said Transport minister Simeon Brown.
Brown was responding to questions from The News on the future of the three speed bumps installed by Waipā District Council on State Highway 3 in Ōhaupō over six months last summer.
While the speed bumps have earned praise from the business community for slowing down traffic, motorists are complaining about their severity according to Waipā Pirongia-Kakepuku Ward councillors Clare St Pierre and Bruce Thomas.
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“People don’t like speed bumps,” St Pierre said.
Clare St Pierre
“There are residents in that community who are really disappointed that the pavement rehabilitation was not done throughout the CBD.”
“I have heard complaints from different people,” said Thomas.
He thought the speed bump warning signs were in the wrong place and did not give motorists adequate warning.
“There’s a speed reduction sign right by the speed bump.”
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He had mentioned it to council, but the sign had not been moved.
Bruce Thomas
Road Haulage Te Awamutu owner Warren Whittaker said Ōhaupō’s speed bumps were too severe, disrupting livestock and cargo.
“They are a pain in the arse,” he said.
“They are too savage; they need to make them not as savage. We have got livestock on board.”
Federated Farmers Waikato provincial vice president Andrew Reymer, who lives locally and is on the Pirongia ward committee, agreed Ōhaupō’s speed bumps were too severe but thought the council had done everything right.
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“The job was not finished,” he said. He was looking forward to NZTA finishing the job.
“The community has been asking for a pedestrian crossing for years, now the kids are crossing safely. That’s the win.”
Waipā Transportation manager Bryan Hudson – in a report that went before the council’s Pirongia Ward committee yesterday that substantial “tempering of traffic speed” had been achieved.
“Following project completion, the community sentiment towards the upgrades has been very positive,” he said.
Ōhaupō farmer Andrew Reymer.
“The Government is changing that by ringfencing funding for resealing, rehabilitation, and drainage maintenance works on our roading network to prevent potholes and improve the maintenance of our roads.”
The cost of last summer’s construction works was $2.1 million.
Residents are bracing for more disruption as Waka Kotahi New Zealand Transport Agency completes the job before Christmas with full rehabilitation of the state highway pavement.
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Brown said since the release of the Government Policy Statement on land transport (GPS), 29 speed bumps on state highways that were proposed under the previous government’s GPS had been cancelled.
“Additionally, our GPS removes funding for speed bumps on local roads from the National Land Transport Fund – an activity which had become profligate under the previous government’s transport policies and simply just frustrated motorists and incurred significant costs to ratepayers and taxpayers.”
Brown said projects that had already received funding would continue, but no further Crown funding would be available for these types of projects which he said simply inconvenience motorists.
“If local councils want to spend ratepayers’ money on speed bumps, they are free to do so, but they won’t receive National Land Transport Funds to help pay for it,” he said.
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