Invercargill Speed Management is a finalist project in the Road Safety category of the 2023 Asset Management Excellence Awards.
Invercargill Road Network speed limit review was designed to reduce the number of killed or seriously injured people within the Invercargill area. It aligned with Road to Zero, New Zealand’s Road Safety Strategy. Infrastructure improvements and speed management is the first of the five key focus areas and has a direct impact on the severity of all crashes.
Invercargill City Council is committed to improving safety on our road network, and they have implemented our Interim Speed Management Plan. Speed is an issue that is being addressed at a national level as part of the Waka Kotahi New Zealand Transport Agency (NZTA) “Road to Zero” Road Safety Strategy, with a Regional Speed Management Plan required by 2024. Invercargill’s project aligned with but was separate to the national Waka Kotahi State highway Speed Management initiative. Invercargill City Council receives frequent service requests about speed limits and traffic calming. Reducing speed helps to make the roads safer. In urban areas, reducing speeds can help reduce the severity of crashes involving vulnerable users. On rural roads, reducing speed limits creates a more forgiving environment, resulting in fewer motor vehicle deaths and serious injuries and a secondary benefit of suppressing dust.
