Changes to Speed Limit Zones around Schools
From June 2025, speed limits around schools will change.
There are two types of roads, state highways and local roads. State Highways are managed by Waka Kotahi / New Zealand Transport Agency, and local roads are managed by the Council. Council can only update speed limits on local roads within the South Taranaki district.
All schools on South Taranaki District local roads have a 30km/h speed limit in place and this will not be increased. However, a change you will notice is that the 30km/h speed limit will only be active from 8.15am to 9.00am and 2.45pm to 3.30pm on school days.
Camberwell Road in Hāwera will also keep the 30km/h permanent speed restriction because the land around the road has changed significantly since December 2019 with the addition of the school portacoms on Bayly Park. The portacoms are used by students at Te Paepae o Aotea throughout the school day, and the infrastructure does not support a higher speed limit.
Another key change is the size of the speed limit zone. Speed limit zones will be restricted to the roads outside the school gate(s) or access points. This means that roads that don’t have a direct access point to a school will go back to 50km/h or 100km/h if the road is in a rural area.
Where necessary, there is some flexibility in the legislation to allow for a common-sense approach. If a school is situated on an intersection, it is reasonable that all roads of that intersection will be under a speed restriction. If schools are located close together, then that whole area can be under a speed restriction.
These changes are a legislative requirement from Central Government, meaning there will be no public consultation on the changes. If you have any questions or concerns, please contact Council by email at contact@stdc.govt.nz or by phoning 0800 111 323.
