Drivers approaching the entry to the Bluff township on State Highway 1 may face a lower speed limit, with the Bluff Community Board calling for a reduction.

At its meeting last night, the board approved a draft letter to the New Zealand Transport Agency Waka Kotahi (NZTA), requesting a review of the speed limits on State Highway 1 near Ocean Beach.

In its letter, the board asked NZTA to consider a transitional reduction in speed – from 100 kilometres per hour, to 70 kilometres per hour from the intersection of Nichol Rd, before a further reduction to 50 kilometres per hour at the town’s entry.

State Highway 1 currently changes from a 100 kilometres per hour speed limit, before a decrease to a 50 kilometres per hour limit at the Bluff entry.

Board chair Ray Fife said the request was about the safety of Bluff residents. “The wellbeing of our community is at the heart of every decision we make,” he said.

“We know that a reduction in speed can minimise harm in the event of a motor vehicle collision, and the additional transitional space – for drivers to gradually go from 100 to 70 and then 50 kilometres an hour – would give those behind the wheel time to adjust to a changed speed environment.”

The Bluff Community Board had made similar requests to NZTA in the past, this had not been considered by the agency in recent speed limit reviews throughout the Southland region.

The board also extended an invitation to representatives of NZTA to attend one of its meetings, to discuss the process required for the proposed change to be considered and implemented, Fife said.