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Residents call for reduced speed limit

Melania Watson
Meeting Photo
Residents met on March 31 at St Silas Church in Redwood to voice their concerns about noise from the Northern Corridor motorway.  Melania Watson

Residents living near the Northern Corridor motorway are losing sleep due to noise from the new $290 million road.

Residents living near the motorway, which opened late last year, are calling for the speed limit to be reduced from 100kmh to 60kmh until "low noise asphalt" is added to the motorway in October.

Due to the angle of the overpass and the lack of high noise barriers, traffic sound is bouncing around Redwood's residential streets. 

Anna Wu lives about 70m from the Northern Corridor in Mulberry Ave, Redwood.

She said her rights were being violated by the poor design of the motorway.

"I close all of my windows during the day because I can't tolerate the noise," Wu said.  

Lowering the speed limit to 60kmh would lower the noise by about 6.8 decibel, according to the Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Agency.

Redwood resident Ana Connor believed a speed limit of 60kmh would make a big difference to the noise and "our quality of life, our ability to get a decent night's sleep". 

Another Redwood resident, Dave Gardner, said a reduced speed limit would do wonders since "we are unable to build fences to block the noise. [The motorway] is higher up than the rooftops".

Labour MP for Christchurch Central, Duncan Webb, backs the residents and has written to Waka Kotahi.

On April 8, the Christchurch City Council discussed the call for a temporary speed limit reduction. As a result, Mayor Lianne Dalziel has written to the Minister of Transport. The council backs a lowering of the speed limit.

Christchurch Northern Corridor (CNC) Aerial Flyover