More calls to lower speed limit through Redcliffs to 40km/h

Redcliffs’ residents are again calling for a lower speed limit through their village.

Last week the Redcliffs Residents Association wrote to the Linwood-Central-Heathcote Community Board requesting it ask Christchurch City Council to implement a 40km/h speed limit along Main Rd.

Residents’ association secretary Pat McIntosh said other parts of city, such as Woolston and Sumner, had a lower speed limit of 30km/h and it would be an advantage if Redcliffs could have something similar.

The residents’ association first requested the city council reduce the speed limit in April 2015 - and has repeatedly called for this since.

Residents were told in 2016 and 2020 that the speed would be addressed in the Main Rd Master Plan.

However, the implementation of this plan could be delayed further if the city council’s draft Long Term Plan goes ahead, where they have allocated the Master Plan to the 2030/31 period.

Because of this, the association is asking the city council to take action and introduce the 40km/h speed limit now.

McIntosh said improving public safety for pedestrians and cyclists is its main concern.

“It will also benefit the environment and amenity of the village centre and make it easier for traffic to enter Main Rd from the side streets,” she said.

McIntosh said they expect the completion of the Coastal Pathway will bring more visitors to the area who will need to cross the Main Rd to visit shops and the parks.

A lowered speed limit through Moncks Bay is already proposed as part of the Coastal Pathway and the residents’ association hope this can be extended through the whole of Redcliffs from the causeway to beyond Moncks Bay.

As part of their calls for a lowered speed limit, the residents association conducted a survey in 2020 to deduce the level of community support for this change.

Sixty responses were received and 77 per cent of those surveyed were in favour of a reduced speed limit.

Heathcote Ward city councillor Sara Templeton said residents had been calling for a lower speed limit as long as she had been on the board.

“It is really important to create safe spaces for people,” she said.

The community board originally put through a request for reducing the speed limit, however the New Zealand Transport Agency rules at the time prevented an easy change.

After this, the proposed speed limit was to be dealt with under the Master Plan.

Templeton is hoping to advocate for this issue with the community board.