Church Square and surrounds proposed speed limit change

Following community requests, Council staff have investigated a reduction in the speed limit for the streets around Church Square. Council are proposing to reduce the posted speed limit to 40km/hr.

Consultation Summary

We received 117 submissions during the consultation period. Of the 117 submissions, 78 submitters were in support of the proposal, 27 were in support but had some concerns, six did not support the proposal and six did not state their preference. Of the 117 submissions, five identified as being part of an organisation.

During the consultation, the themes of the feedback included:

Requests for the speed limit to be reduced further

• 31 submitters commented that the speed limit should be reduced further than 40km/hr

Safety concerns/suggestions

• 25 submitters noted safety concerns or made suggestions to improve the road layout, such as making streets one-way or removing on-street parking

Unnecessary

• Nine submitters commented that the speed reduction was unnecessary

Support for the speed reduction

• 15 submitters included in their comments their support for the speed reduction

Requests for the area to be adjusted

• Nine submitters requested additional streets be included
• Two submitters requested Harman Street be excluded from the reduced speed restriction area
• One submitter requested the speed limit be reduced to 40km/hr for Harman Street and Ward Street and 30km/hr for the other streets.

Issues outside the scope of this project have been forwarded to the appropriate people within Council.

All submissions (with names and without addresses) are available to view. [PDF, 1.6 MB] 

Meeting details and decision making process

A report recommending the Spreydon-Cashmere Community Board approves the plan will be presented to the Board:          

Date:               Friday 16 February 2018

Time:              Meeting starts at 8am

Venue:            Beckenham Service Centre, 66 Colombo St, Cashmere

This meeting is open to the public and anyone is welcome to attend. If you would like to request to speak to your submission in person at the meeting, please contact the Community Board Advisor, Faye Collins at Faye.Collins@ccc.govt.nz or (03) 941 5108 by Tuesday 13 February. 

 The agenda for this meeting, including the report and any additional information, can be viewed online from Wednesday 14 February 2018 on this webpage christchurch.infocouncil.biz(external link)

The Spreydon-Cashmere Community Board recommendation will be included in the meeting minutes three working days after the meeting, following the link above.

Project timeframes

If the proposed project is approved by the Council it is expected that signage will be installed in April 2018.

Background

Church Square

The streets in Addington [PDF, 328 KB] around Church Square are heavily parked and have traffic calming devices such as speed humps and narrowing which keep vehicle speeds low.  The Council are proposing to reduce the posted speed limit to 40km/h which is better aligned with actual speeds in the area. 

We would like to receive your feedback on this proposal.

Changing speed limits

The Christchurch City Council's Speed Limits Bylaw 2010 allows Council to set and change speed limits on roads within Christchurch in accordance with the Land Transport Rule Setting of Speed Limits 2017.  Please note it is proposed to amalgamate the Speed Limits Bylaw with the new Traffic & Parking Bylaw 2017. For more information please visit the council website(external link)

What happens next

Once the consultation period has closed, the project team will analyse the feedback and produce a staff report which will go to the Spreydon-Cashmere Community Board for a recommendation to Council who will then make the final decision. 

At this stage we are anticipating that a recommendation will be made by the Community Board at their February 2018 meeting.  With the final decision being made at the following Council meeting in March 2018.  If the proposal is approved the change is expected to take place from April 2018. 

All submitters will receive written updates on the project, including details of the staff recommendations and meetings, and how to request to speak at the meeting if they wish to do so.

Timeline

• Consultation starts Monday 20 November 2017
• Consultation closes Monday 11 December 2017, at 5pm
• Update to submitters on the consultation outcome in January 2018
• Spreydon-Cashmere Community Board recommendation meeting expected in February 2018
• Speed limits implemented (subject to Council approval) in April 2018