16 Feb 2020

Proposal to cut speed limit in tourist areas around Queenstown

9:44 am on 16 February 2020

Drivers in Wanaka and Arrowtown may have to cut their driving speeds in busy tourist areas.

A road sign indicating a 65km speed around a tight corner on a rural road in the Coromandel.

File photo. Photo: RNZ / Cole Eastham-Farrelly

The new limits being proposed by the Queenstown Lakes District Council were open for public feedback until the end of the month.

They followed a recent public meeting where residents expressed frustration at the dangerous driving they were seeing by foreign drivers.

Mayor Jim Boult said there was no panacea for this problem but the proposed new limits, formulated before the public meeting, should help.

He said the areas chosen all shared certain characteristics.

"Roads that are a little more challenging than others. Areas where we've seen accidents occur. Areas that have high traffic use"