Late May 2025
And the advocacy to retain safer speeds continues as the signs go up across Auckland. This one isn’t from Meadowbank but there is one waiting to be unveiled on a street by the school.
It’s not too late to urge the elected officials to do the right thing. You could include points like:
- What safer speeds in our community mean for you and your family moving around Meadowbank.
- That safer speeds are supported by local residents and the school community.
- That we should all be doing everything possible to encourage tamariki to walk and cycle to school.
- Making the streets around the school more dangerous will have the opposite effect and put more cars on the road.
- AT shouldn’t waste any time and money on reversing safe speeds when we can see other cities* have found a way to retain their safe speed zones around schools.
*more on this from this Greater Auckland post:
‘…AT does have options. Because, as it happens, Hamilton City Council and Dunedin City Council took a very similar approach to Auckland’s in implementing safe speeds, and have been much more proactive in defending them. Along with most other urban centres, Hamilton and Dunedin have read the rule carefully to ensure they don’t go beyond its requirements. As a consequence, they’re raising speeds on far fewer roads: just six in Dunedin compared to Auckland’s rollback on over 1500 streets.’
Put your thoughts on what retaining safer speeds means to you, your family and the community and email to:
Early May 2025
The Residents Association has continued to keep abreast of the evolving situation with regards to the new Speed Rule, which amongst other things tells cities they must raise neighbourhood speed limits from 30km/h back up to 50km/h if schools were mentioned as one of the reasons for safer local speeds.
We have sought urgent reassurance from our elected members, Ward Councillor Desley Simpson Orakei Local Board Chair, Scott Milne and our local Minister of Parliament Brook van Velden, who support us in this endeavour to retain safer speeds in the Meadowbank community.
Resident Association committee member, Charmaine Vaughan and her transport advocate son also met with Brooke Van Velden who has written to the Minister Transport asking for clarification on the situation.
In April, the new Transport Minister Chris Bishop clarified the Rule in Parliament when questioned, suggested that communities can keep existing safe speeds:
Hon Julie Anne Genter: Will he amend the 2024 speed limit rule to allow local authorities and NZTA to retain safer speed limits of 30 km/h where there is strong community support, especially around schools and aged-care facilities, where people are crossing the road all during the day; if not, why not?
Hon Chris Bishop: The rule allows for that.
And in a recent email to our Residents Association, Minister Van Velden said:
‘Minister Bishop’s office indicated other councils (like Hamilton) either will be or already are applying for particular streets they believe should be reduced to below 50kmph and they can confirm this process is possible under the legislation.’
Another City Council that is keeping lower speed limits around most schools is Dunedin. You can read more here in the Otago Daily Times or listen here on Newstalk ZB.
Like Auckland Transport (AT), both Hamilton City Council (HCC) and Dunedin City Council (DCC) consulted on safe speeds in areas around schools, testing the public appetite for a strict focus on school streets vs wider neighbourhood treatments.
Like AT, both HCC and DCC gained public confirmation, via consultation, that people were in many cases were keen on wider neighbourhood zones. And so that’s what they’re standing by – which then lets them keep the specific school streets of 30km/hr too.
If this approach is working for Dunedin and Hamilton, then we believe it’s got to be available to AT.
Until we hear otherwise, there’s still hope AT will do the right thing by Meadowbank and other communities looking to keep their existing safe speed limits . There’s also a chance the new Minister of Transport, Chris Bishop, will enable a more reasonable approach to the Speed rule that takes local knowledge and data into account.
After all, based on the evidence AT provided when introducing our 30km/h zone, raising speeds back to 50km/h will increase the risks on our quiet local streets. Moreover, local response to the original consultation was very supportive. In AT’s original 2021 consultation, 70% of respondents supported the proposal to reduce speeds and 30% did not. And in a follow-up survey in 2024 by the Residents’ Association, 77% supported or strongly supported retaining the reduced speed limits and 23% did not. This confirms an enduring level of support for safer speeds.
If you would like to show your enduring level of support for safer speeds, you can let the elected officials know:
- Our local Minister of Parliament, Brooke Van Velden mptamaki@parliament.govt.nz
- Our Ward Councillor, Desley Simpson,
- Auckland Transport Board Chair, Richard Leggatt,
- Auckland Transport CEO, Dean Kimpton,
Thanks to Greater Auckland for these tips on emailing elected officials:
- Be polite
- Speak about your local area, and your experiences – this could include mentioning particular dangerous roads, your local school and how children travel to it, the tangible differences that speed reductions have made
- Share personal stories about road safety that you feel comfortable telling
- Spell out your opposition to the reversions to higher speeds, and your support for permanent speed reductions
- Express your support for consultation on any reversals, to ensure communities get to have their say
- Remind them of the evidence that safe speeds work – because it’s the evidence we should be following
March 2025
There was very strong support in 2021
In November 2021, Auckland Transport (AT) consulted on introducing a 30 km/h speed limit on the residential streets around the schools in our area.
Kids holding signs asking drivers to slow down, image from AT’s pamphlet Speed at the School Gate
The results were clear: of 123 submissions, 86 (70%) supported the proposals and 37 (30%) did not. Many people included comments in their responses: out of 176 mentions, 100 (57%) were supportive; a further 26 (15%) were partially supportive, while only 50 (28%) opposed the changes.
AT’s consultation also recorded the level of support for the individual streets. Of the 28 streets in the area, half of which are cul-de-sacs, feedback was provided on 17 streets. In line with the submissions for the overall proposal, feedback at the individual street level was very strongly in favour of the 30 km/h limit. Two of the busiest streets (Meadowbank Road and Temple St, both of which include speed tables) drew the most responses: while these were more mixed, a majority on each street was in favour of the change. Some commenters pointed out that on the longest street in the area, Meadowbank Road, the difference in time taken to drive its entire length at 30 km/h v 50 km/h (even assuming this was possible) is barely 30 seconds. Comments made on AT’s interactive map from the consultation reflect the high level of support for the changes, as the screenshot below shows.
At the time, AT also asked residents to note any other changes they would like to see in our area. This drew a total of 26 comments, almost all of which were in support of 30km/h speed limits elsewhere, notably on Gowing Drive and several of the surrounding streets and along St Johns Road / Remuera Road through the town centre.
If anything, there is even stronger support in 2025
Last month, the Meadowbank and St Johns Residents Association surveyed its members to gauge the level of ongoing support for the 30 km/h speed limits. Of 143 responses, 109 expressed an opinion: 84 (77%) supported or strongly supported retaining the speed limits and 25 (23%) did not. This result is remarkably consistent with AT’s consultation more than three years earlier, and demonstrates an enduring level of support for the changes.
Why this matters
Ultimately, the streets with the 30 km/h limits don’t form any kind of through-route to other suburbs or destinations, and there are very few businesses or shops in the area – they’re residential streets.
What they do have is two primary schools, a kindergarten, a church and a retirement village. Plus the train station and several access points to the Glen Innes to Tamaki Drive shared path (at Harapaki Road, Tahapa Crescent, Mamaku Street and Manapau Street / Purewa Road) – and that transforms the area from a kind of cul-de-sac to an important through-route for many people walking and cycling.
Making the whole area a 30 km/h zone makes it safer for those people. And their numbers will only grow as we see more apartments developed, as is currently happening on Meadowbank Road and Manapau Street, and when the CRL opens in 2026, bringing large parts of the city centre within 10-15 minutes of the train station.
Reverting to 50 km/h would be a backwards step and out of line with what the community wants and needs. The community has spoken – twice – they want 30 km/h on all these streets 24/7.
What needs to happen?
Or rather, what doesn’t need to happen, is what AT is proposing, which is contrary to what the community wants.
Last week, AT announced that it proposes to remove the 30 km/h speed limits on these streets and revert to 50 km/h everywhere, except right outside the schools and only for certain times of day. And to try to manage this with new electronic signs – which our rates will have to pay for.
What’s worse, despite the Government allowing AT until 1 July to consider and make the changes, they’re trying to rush this through by 30 March. Meanwhile, the new Minister of Transport has shown a degree of pragmatism and flexibility – the safer speed limits have been retained in several locations around the country where local communities have advocated for them.
Perhaps there are other locations around Auckland where reverting to 50km/h makes sense? But not in these residential streets in Meadowbank! Whatever the Government or AT thinks, our community has been clear – in 2021 and again in 2025 – the 30km/h speed limits make sense on these streets. And they need to stay!
Orange = support 30 km/h; yellow = 40 km/h; red = 50km/h; blue = less than 30 km/h; black = other comment
If you are wondering what you can do to take action the team from Greater Auckland have some great suggestions here.