OBRA submission on Land Transport Rule - 19/07/24
Submission of Ōwhiro Bay Residents Association on Land Transport Rule: Setting of Speed
Limits Rule 2024 (the draft Speed Rule).
Ōwhiro Bay Residents Association (OBRA) strongly opposes the above legislation. We
encourage the Ministry and the Minister of Transport to maintain the status quo.
Our opposition is based on the following principles.
1. The proposed legislation overrides community wishes and local knowledge of local road
conditions.
2. The current Government campaigned on a promise of less Government and more local
decision making. This proposed legislation is the antithesis of that promise.
3. Variable, instead of static speed limits outside schools, are less effective and do not result in significant time savings. However, it is more confusing for drivers and means that children are not safe to walk and cycle at any time of day. Speed reductions should apply at all times.
4. Higher road speeds will mean more deaths. The discussion document makes light of this
issue, suggesting the evidence is unclear. Global research confirms the evidence is
certain. We have domestic examples too –highway speed limits were reduced from 60
miles per hour to 50 miles per hour in New Zealand in response to the 1973 oil crisis.The
following year the number of fatal road crashes on the open road fell by 37 percent,
compared with a 15 percent reduction in urban areas, in which there were no changes to
speed limits.
5. If passed into law, the proposed legislation would make New Zealand a global outlier. A
paper published by the National Technical University of Athens found that results from 40
different cities across Europe, including Brussels, Paris, and Zurich, indicated that
reductions in speed limits improved road safety by decreasing the likelihood of crash risk
and the severity of crashes that do occur. On average, the implementation of 30 km/h
speed limits in European cities demonstrated a 23% reduction in road crashes, a 37%
reduction in fatalities, and a 38% reduction in injuries.
6. International research is clear that there are environmental and community benefits to
lower speeds. The same study referenced above found lower speed limits also yield
environmental benefits, with emissions decreasing on average by 18%, noise pollution
levels by 2.5 dB, and fuel consumption by 7%, indicating enhanced fuel efficiency and
reduced environmental impact
For context, Ōwhiro Bay is a small suburb on the south coast of Wellington. Our streets are
narrow, with limited parking. Our community is heavily visited recreationally by cars and by four
wheel drive vehicles as it is the access point to Te Kopahou Reserve. Our suburb is also heavily
visited by pedestrians and cyclists. Pedestrians and cyclists are absent from the proposed
legislation - we would prefer to see them at the centre of it.
Limits Rule 2024 (the draft Speed Rule).
Ōwhiro Bay Residents Association (OBRA) strongly opposes the above legislation. We
encourage the Ministry and the Minister of Transport to maintain the status quo.
Our opposition is based on the following principles.
1. The proposed legislation overrides community wishes and local knowledge of local road
conditions.
2. The current Government campaigned on a promise of less Government and more local
decision making. This proposed legislation is the antithesis of that promise.
3. Variable, instead of static speed limits outside schools, are less effective and do not result in significant time savings. However, it is more confusing for drivers and means that children are not safe to walk and cycle at any time of day. Speed reductions should apply at all times.
4. Higher road speeds will mean more deaths. The discussion document makes light of this
issue, suggesting the evidence is unclear. Global research confirms the evidence is
certain. We have domestic examples too –highway speed limits were reduced from 60
miles per hour to 50 miles per hour in New Zealand in response to the 1973 oil crisis.The
following year the number of fatal road crashes on the open road fell by 37 percent,
compared with a 15 percent reduction in urban areas, in which there were no changes to
speed limits.
5. If passed into law, the proposed legislation would make New Zealand a global outlier. A
paper published by the National Technical University of Athens found that results from 40
different cities across Europe, including Brussels, Paris, and Zurich, indicated that
reductions in speed limits improved road safety by decreasing the likelihood of crash risk
and the severity of crashes that do occur. On average, the implementation of 30 km/h
speed limits in European cities demonstrated a 23% reduction in road crashes, a 37%
reduction in fatalities, and a 38% reduction in injuries.
6. International research is clear that there are environmental and community benefits to
lower speeds. The same study referenced above found lower speed limits also yield
environmental benefits, with emissions decreasing on average by 18%, noise pollution
levels by 2.5 dB, and fuel consumption by 7%, indicating enhanced fuel efficiency and
reduced environmental impact
For context, Ōwhiro Bay is a small suburb on the south coast of Wellington. Our streets are
narrow, with limited parking. Our community is heavily visited recreationally by cars and by four
wheel drive vehicles as it is the access point to Te Kopahou Reserve. Our suburb is also heavily
visited by pedestrians and cyclists. Pedestrians and cyclists are absent from the proposed
legislation - we would prefer to see them at the centre of it.
Resource Management (Freshwater and Other Matters) Amendment Bill
Submission: Ōwhiro Bay Residents Association.
- Ōwhiro Bay is a suburb in Wellington City. It is home to the Ōwhiro Stream catchment, which is seriously and increasingly polluted with faecal matter from faulty plumbing in new and existing houses, windblown plastics from the Southern Landfill and chemical leachate from beneath the adjoining private landfill.
- The stream has high ecological importance. It flows into the Taputeranga Marine Reserve, is one of the few streams in Wellington that have whitebait spawning, and the terminus (Ōwhiro Bay) is a viable blue penguin habitat. It also affects the health and wellbeing of our community: the polluted water flows along Happy Valley Road through private gardens, next to sports fields and through the local primary school’s grounds. Our community knows the recreational and social value of our stream, and what we have lost. Previous generations of children were able to play and catch fish in the stream, but today, skin-irritating pollutants mean that children are not allowed to touch the water.
- Local community groups have worked hard with Wellington Water and the Wellington Council to gradually improve the water quality of Ōwhiro Stream. This Bill undermines our community’s progress towards achieving our vision for Ōwhiro Bay and New Zealand, where all our rivers and streams are protected for children and their families to enjoy. New Zealand communities deserve for our Government to support our efforts to restore biodiversity and ecosystem health, not work against us.
- Specifically, we are strongly opposed to excluding the Te Mana o te Wai hierarchy of obligations within the National Policy Statement for Freshwater Management 2020 from resource consent applications and resource consent decision-making processes. Without having this hierarchy of obligations, it risks regional councils making decisions that prioritise commercial interests that may negatively impact the health and wellbeing of communities and ecosystems. There is no current evidence that the Te Mana o te Wai hierarchy of obligations is impacting consent application processes, suggesting this is focused primarily on increasing the ability of commercial interests to exploit natural resources.
- Combined with the proposals in the Fast-track Approvals Bill, this Bill risks insufficient safeguards to protect the health and wellbeing of communities.
Recommendation: We recommend that the Bill is thrown out in its entirety.
Submission by Owhiro Bay Residents Association (OBRA): Southern Landfill Extension SLEPO
This submission was made in October 2023.
OBRA represents Owhiro Bay residents. We all live near the Southern Landfill and have a stake in its future, daily feeling its effects both direct and indirect. We have been represented for the last two years on the WCC SLEPO Working Group and have had constructive and useful discussions with Wellington City council officers.
Although we largely support the resource consent application we have the following issues.
Download a PDF of the Submission here.
OBRA represents Owhiro Bay residents. We all live near the Southern Landfill and have a stake in its future, daily feeling its effects both direct and indirect. We have been represented for the last two years on the WCC SLEPO Working Group and have had constructive and useful discussions with Wellington City council officers.
Although we largely support the resource consent application we have the following issues.
Download a PDF of the Submission here.
