Community feedback helps shape proposed speed limit changes

Invercargill City Council is proposing a series of targeted speed limit changes – and formalising shared zone regulations on Esk St – to better reflect the way they were used by the community.

Consultation on Council’s Roading and Traffic Bylaw – 2025 Speed Review and Shared Spaces would run until 11 August.

Invercargill City Council Manager Strategic Asset Planning Doug Rodgers said the proposed changes reflected ongoing community feedback, as well as updated engineering assessments.

“The proposed changes aim to better reflect how our roading network within Invercargill is used by our community each day,” he said.

“We’re really encouraged that our community has engaged with Council on issues that matter to them. Their feedback has played a key role in shaping the proposed changes, which better reflect safe and appropriate speed limits in their neighbourhoods.”

The proposed changes are as follows:

• Curran Rd (between Dunns Rd to Otatara Rd): Increase the speed limit from 60kmph to 80kmph, to align with legislative changes to rural local road standards
• McQuarrie St (Chesney St to Rockdale Rd): Decrease the speed limit from 80kmph to 60kmph, to address community safety concerns
• Retreat Rd (McIvor Rd to Bainfield Rd) and Bainfield Rd (Queens Dr to new Inverurie Dr intersection): Decrease the speed limit from 60kmph to 50kmph, to reflect increased residential development and changes to traffic volumes
• Esk St (Dee St to Kelvin St): Formalising shared zone regulations – right-of-way for pedestrians, vehicles allowed with restrictions, Council parking spaces excluded
• Est St West (Leven St to Dee St): Bus-only access, right-of-way for pedestrians, Council parking spaces excluded.

“Though consultation is not legally required for shared zones, Council has opted to include these within the bylaw to ensure transparency for our community,” Rodgers said.

“We know that the Esk St area, at the heart of our city, plays an important role in the lives of the people who call Invercargill home, and we want to ensure everybody is fully-informed about the regulations governing traffic flow in this area.

“While what we’ve proposed for Esk St West would mean this section of the road was bus-only access, there wouldn’t be any changes on the remainder of Esk St. Including Esk St in the bylaw is really just formalising what we already have in place on one of our key inner-city streets,” he said.

The proposed changes followed significant speed limit changes introduced throughout New Zealand in 2022, which had since been reversed.

For more information, and to make a submission on the proposed changes, click here