Cambridge Road residents' pleas to lower the speed limit along Cambridge Road are not going unheard with Tauranga City Council set to take action.

The residents made a presentation at council's submissions process on a number of speed limit changes about the city yesterday, which did not originally include Cambridge Road.

Resident Ian Craig wants speed limits reduced along Cambridge Road.

As per legal requirements TCC advertised proposed speed limit changes on several other city roads in December last year and had received 44 submissions by January 21.

Of the 44 received 40 were about concerns over the speed of traffic on Cambridge Road between Tauriko and Moffat Road in Bethlehem.

Cambridge Road residents yesterday argued the current speed limit of 80km/h is too high for the number of residences and traffic flows along the road.

Resident Paul Anselmi says Cambridge Road has 2.7 times more vehicles per kilometre accessing it than Moffat Road yet the speed limit is 20km/h higher.

Moffat Road from Elder Lane to Cambridge Road has 46 residences and one school accessing the 60km/h zoned road either directly or from shared driveways.

Whereas, Cambridge Road from Moffat Road to Tauriko is 3.1km and has a speed limit of 80km/h.

In that section there are 328 residences, a day care centre and a garden centre accessing Cambridge Road either directly or from share driveways and lanes.

Paul says the speed makes slowing down to turn into homes extremely dangerous for residents as the following traffic has to slow suddenly from 80km/h to a near stand-still. In most places there is nowhere to pass a turning vehicle.

Many of the driveway and lanes like Plane Tree Lane, Kelston Way, Echo Valley Lane, Furness Lane, Miles Lane and Rosewood Lane are close to corners making it dangerous to enter or leave them with traffic going 80km/h.

'We have witnessed three serious car accidents outside our home and I believe they were caused by the high speed limit, as they were all to do with turning into driveways,” says Paul.

One car was hit from behind while turning left into Plane Tree Lane.

Paul says it was shunted right into his property, destroying five letter boxes and a hedge before being stopped by the tree outside the garage.

He says it is only a matter of time before a log truck, or similar, rolls over while trying to stop for someone turning into a drive or lane.

Paul's daughter was also caught in a near miss with a truck as she attempted to turn into the family's driveway.

Her vehicle was paused in the middle of Cambridge Road waiting for a gap in oncoming traffic when a truck carrying a container came from behind and had nowhere to go.

The braking left large skid marks on the road and the driver took to the grass verge, nearly losing his load in the process and clipping the rear of his daughter's car as it passed, shunting her vehicle into the path of oncoming traffic. Paul says the driver didn't stop.

The verge is where the school bus drops off its passengers and Paul says at a different time of day the driver would have been forced to choose who he hit.

'There is chaos at Plane Tree Lane every morning as school buses stop for children. It is only a matter of time before there is a major accident with one of these school buses loaded with children,” says Paul.

Another resident Angus Craig says there are no footpaths or cycle ways, and a lack of concealed exit signs along the road. He says a reduced speed on the windy section of road will make it safer for all users.

Ian Craig says there have been several accidents on the bend by his property. One of them closed the road for three hours.

Diana Amundsen's submission focussed on the dangers to school children getting on and off school buses. She also submitted that there are no footpaths, no crossings and reduced visibility because of the bends in the road.

Grant and Claudia Lues say they have had at least six near accidents from people tailgating, and one stand up argument with a driver who nearly drove into the rear of her vehicle.

Don Waugh says he's surprised permission was granted for the pre-school to open off Cambridge Road near a very dangerous corner when the speed limit past schools is 40km/h.

Before undertaking the public consultation process Council staff advised the New Zealand Transport Agency it was considering extending the Cambridge Road 60km/h limit 145metres south of Moffat Road, but the suggestion was knocked back by the NZTA, which suggested instead that a threshold treatment be installed at the changed point.

Councillors decided the discussion with the NZTA over Cambridge Road needs to start soon, before something does happen.

The council voted to direct staff to discuss options to manage speed on Cambridge Road between State Highway 29 at Tauriko and Moffat Road with the New Zealand Transport Agency and New Zealand Police.

While the council has been empowered since 2009 to change speed limits on city roads the council roading manager Martin Parkes says NZTA is still consulted.

Other city roads to have lower speed limits include; Freeburn Road off Pyes Pa Road reduced from 70km/h to 50km/h.

Ngapeke and Asher Roads off Welcome Bay Road are now 60km/h, down from 80km/h. Taranaki Lane, off the 100km/h section of Welcome Bay Road is slowed from 100km/h to 60km/h.

Parton Road in Papamoa is now 70km/h from the vicinity of the Tara Road intersection, through to the current 50km/h boundary near Papamoa Beach Road.

The 100km/h section of Pyes Pa Road from the Crematorium roundabout to the existing 70km/h limit near Aquinas College will in future be 80km/h, and the 70km/h zone reduced to 60km/h.