SPEED LIMIT IN BOROUGH

Southland Times, Issue 23346, 2 November 1937, Page 6

SPEED LIMIT IN BOROUGH

REMOVAL IN PORTION NOT FAVOURED INVERCARGILL-FORTROSE HIGHWAY A suggestion from the Transport Department that the speed limit of 30 miles an hour be removed from a section of the Invercargill-Fortrose main highway was not favourably received at a meeting of the South Invercargill Borough Council last evening. It was decided to write to the department asking it not to remove the speed restriction in Scott street—part of the Invercargill-Fortrose highway—and that a speed limit of 20 miles an hour be imposed on the portion of Avon road passing through Clifton. The big amount of motor traffic and the number of school children using the roads were the main reasons given for the decision not to agree with the department’s suggestion. The letter from the department, setting out its reasons for wishing to remove the speed restriction, was considered by last night’s meeting of the council, but a letter drafted by the town clerk (Mr E. Smith) giving the council’s reasons for objecting to a removal of the restriction in Scott street was considered and approved by the meeting. The department’s letter stated:— “The law providing for the 30 miles an hour limit in cities, boroughs and town districts also empowers the Minister of Transport (the Hon. R. Semple) to exclude any road or street from the speed limitation. The latter clause is intended to be applied where there is no great extent of built-up area and where it would consequently not be reasonable to expect the speed limit to be enforced. OBSERVANCE DESIRED “It is the desire of the Government that this speed restriction should be universally respected by motorists and the first step towards achieving this is to use care and discrimination in determining whether it should apply. To this end, it is considered that the In-vercargill-Fortrose main highway for about one and a-half miles from the boundary should be excluded from this speed restriction. The point at which it is suggested that the restriction might reasonably begin is from Brown street, near the railway crossing. From an examination of the Survey Department’s maps it is found that the adjacent section of the Invercargill-Bluff main highway is wholly outside the borough and is consequently not restricted for speed beyond the city boundary.” It was decided, following consideration of the suggested reply to the department, to ask the department that there should be no removal of the speed restriction in Scott street, which is part of the InvercargillFortrose main highway. It was stated that the road was extensively used by heavy motor-lorries and other motorvehicles. It was also used by school children attending the Tisbury School and there had been many narrow escapes from accidents to children on their way to or from school. It was also decided to ask that a speed limit of 20 miles an hour be set up for the portion of Avon road passing through Clifton. The motor traffic on the road was heavy, it was stated, ana it was felt that there was a great danger of accidents to children attending the Clifton school.