Waipā’s speed bumps under scrutiny

Too steep, too narrow or simply in the wrong place? Speed bumps around Waipā are getting a closer look.

Waipā District Council is set to review some of the raised safety platforms across the district, eight in Cambridge and four in Kihikihi, after elected members and the community raised concerns that some aren't performing as they should.

The review will check each platform against current design guidance, benchmarking against approaches used by local governments in Victoria, Australia, alongside NZTA’s safe system guidance. Staff will assess ramp steepness, platform height, signage, and how each platform performs for heavy vehicles and emergency services.

Group Manager Service Delivery Eeva-Liisa Wright says the goal is to make sure Waipā's speed bumps are doing their job properly.

"Raised safety platforms play an important role in keeping our streets safe for people walking and cycling by slowing traffic. It's worth making sure the ones we've got are built right and finding a fix for the ones that aren't.”

Once the review is done, staff will come back to Council with a plan to bring any platforms that fall short up to standard. That could mean reshaping ramps, adjusting height, or improving signage and markings.

Wright says that there's no funding currently set aside to adjust the speed bumps. Fixing each one is likely to cost somewhere in the range of $8000 to $10,000, and Council will need to find funding before any physical changes can happen.

Elected members held a workshop yesterday on the broader approach to traffic calming, and agreed to hold a further workshop on a set of proposed principles and criteria to guide how and where raised safety platforms are used in future. These are built around the Safe System approach used in road design across New Zealand, which aims to keep vehicle speeds low enough that a crash involving a pedestrian or cyclist is survivable, generally under 30 km/h.

The intention is to give staff and the community a clear, consistent basis for deciding where platforms are needed and how they should be designed, with input from local emergency services, so future installations don't run into the same issues.

Staff will report back to the Service Delivery Committee once the review and consultation work is complete.