Napier Highway kilometer with 13 temporary speed signs and no road works

There are 13 temporary speed reduction signs on a one kilometer stretch of the Taradale road and there are no roadworks in sight.

It is deliberate. The Napier City Council, which has not permanently changed speed on the highway, says it posted them in March and will maintain the signs for some time.

It’s a decision that has left resident Gary Shaw baffled and frustrated.

Shaw’s complaint is about a one-kilometer stretch of road between the EIT campus on Gloucester St, over the Redclyffe Bridge, and Waiohiki Rd before reaching the golf course.

The signs reduce the speed limit from 70 km / h to 50 km / h.

Shaw drives the route between Taradale and Hastings at least twice most days. He says the signs, without works on nearby roads, are “an exaggeration and a flood of signs.”

“I thought it was ridiculous.”

Shaw wants people in the area to slow down and respected the council’s right to change the speed limit, but said the temporary signs had created confusion and that most people were flagrantly violating them.

“I’ve found that people aren’t really watching it.

“Most of the cars that circulate continue to do 70 km / h.”

Napier City Council Transportation Team Leader Robin Malley said temporary speed measures were put in place during the Covid-19 shutdown due to increased traffic in the area after the recycling center closed.

“During the Covid-19 shutdown, the city’s private recycling center closed and this left the council’s transfer station on Springfield Road as the only option to recycle locally after the shutdown ended.

“This obviously meant that there was a significant increase in traffic using Springfield Road and its accesses via Gloucester Street and Waiohiki Road.”

He said the signals were left in place, because Covid-19 alert levels could change in a short time. It means that as long as the Covid crisis continues, the signage will remain.