We’re proposing to lower the speed on Cashmere Road, Sutherlands Road, and Hoon Hay Valley Road to make it safer for people walking. These streets either have no footpath or footpaths that are not connected, which makes it difficult for people to walk safely between new subdivisions, or accessing Halswell Quarry and the Te Kuru wetlands.

In 2023, we proposed lowering speed limits on these streets. At the time, local residents largely supported the proposed changes.

Christchurch City Council approved these changes on Sutherlands Road and Cashmere Road as part of the Interim Safe Speed Neighbourhood Management Plan. Council was also considering speed limit changes along Hoon Hay Valley Road and Cashmere Road – from Sutherlands Road to Happy Home Road through the Draft Safer Speed Plan.

However, the new Setting of Speed Limit 2024 Rule, released by the Ministry of Transport in October 2024, meant that the previously approved changes and speed limit considerations were no longer able to be implemented.

We want everyone to get where they are going safely, regardless of how they are travelling. With more subdivisions planned along Sutherlands Road, and the popularity of the wetlands and the quarry, we’re now revisiting our proposed speed limit adjustments along Cashmere Road, Sutherlands Road, and Hoon Hay Valley Road.

Proposed changes to speed limits:

60kmph to 50kmph

• Hoon Hay Valley Road - from the Cashmere Road intersection to the current speed limit signs near Valley Storage.
• Cashmere Road - from near the entrance to Saddle Vale Rise to the current speed limit signs near Happy Home Road.

60kmph to 40kmph

• Cashmere Road - from the current speed limit signs near the entrance to Halswell Quarry Park to near the entrance to Saddle Vale Rise.
• Sutherlands Road

Cost benefit disclosure statement

The government's Land Transport Rule - Setting of Speed Limit Rule 2024 requires us to complete a cost benefit disclosure statement for the proposed speed limit changes. This sets out the expected impact of the speed limit changes on safety and travel times, and the expected implementation cost.

In summary, the total implementation cost is $16,000, and the proposed speed limit changes are estimated to increase individual travel times by:

• 5 to 7 seconds along Cashmere Road,
  
• 10 seconds along Sutherlands Road and,
• 4 seconds along Hoon Hay Valley.

Overall, they are expected to result in:

• 0.2 fewer serious injury crashes,
• 0.1 fewer minor injury crashes and,
• 0.2 fewer non-injury crashes each year.