Ashburton Guardian, Tuesday, October 8, 2019

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Tuesday, Oct 8, 2019

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Rakaia has to wait for speed review By Jaime Pitt-MacKay Jaime.@theguardian.co.nz

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The New Zealand Transport Agency say they are aware of Rakaia residents’ concerns about the 70km/h speed limit through the town, but that residents will have to wait their turn for a speed limit review. Last week the New Zealand Transport Agency announced a number of speed reviews for South Island towns, but did not include Rakaia. NZTA senior traffic and safety engineer David Scarlet said the transport agency is currently working through speed limit reviews in seven locations on the Canterbury highway network. “Following this, we expect there will be another group of speed limit reviews, still to be finalised,” he said. “We are aware of the concerns of the

Rakaia community and thank everyone for keeping us informed and we have included Rakaia in the sites to be considered.” Comments on the Ashburton Guardian Facebook page on Monday were unanimous in their support of the speed limit being lowered through the township. “Should be 50 through township and 70 across the two bridges. I would rather have added 3-4 mins of travel time than be delayed 3-4 hours after another accident,” one commenter said. “Absolutely. 70km/h is far too dangerous when trying to cross the road. There are children walking and houses along the main road, it’s going to take a fatality before they will do anything. Places like Irwell Village have a 60km/h speed limit and they only have a half dozen houses on the main road. Ridiculous.”

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“Yes. Lower the speed limit and put some sort of crossing in for the children. I personally think a set of lights at the park and Mobil intersection would be the best option. Trucks block visibility and it does make it quite hard for right turning traffic.” In a statement last week, the NZ Transport Agency said they are currently identifying state highways where lower speed limits could make a big difference in preventing deaths and serious injuries, and where communities are calling for change. “South Canterbury/North Otago has two communities where residents have been wanting a speed review for some time and both welcome the announcement of the required formal speed review consultation opening,” the statement said.

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