Transport - Transport2
Traffic Accidents
The number of reported crashes causing injury on Council roads has fluctuated over the past ten years, reaching a peak of 84 in 2010/11. The overall annual trend in the years since then is for a relatively constant number of injury-causing accidents. The data from the last three years is not available due to a change in the way that accident data is now recorded. Formerly, it was the number of all injury-causing accidents in the district that was calculated. In recent years, however, it is only accidents that cause serious injury or death that have been calculated. For 2016/17 and 2017/18 yeras, the data is not available. However, for 2018/19 the number of injury-causing accidents dropped to 31.
The Roading Network
In 2007/08 there were 992.3km of roads in the Matamata-Piako District. This was made up of 992.3km of sealed road and 59.1km unsealed road; approximately 864 km of the roads were within the rural area and 123km in the urban areas. The length of the roading network has increased very gradually since then due to new roads being created through subdivision, mostly in urban areas.
| Length of Roading Network (kms) | 08/09 | 09/10 | 10/11 | 11/12 | 12/13 | 13/14 | 14/15 | 15/16 | 16/17 | 17/18 | 18/19 |
| Sealed | 934.5 | 935.7 | 938.9 | 938.9 | 938.9 | 938.9 | 938.9 | 938.9 | 938.9 | 948.9 | 951 |
| Unsealed | 59.1 | 59.1 | 59.1 | 59.1 | 59.1 | 59.1 | 59.1 | 59.1 | 59.1 | 59.1 | 51 |
| Total | 993.6 | 994.8 | 998.0 | 998.0 | 998.0 | 998.0 | 998.0 | 998.0 | 998.0 | 1008.0 | 1002.0 |
Roading Network Complaints
The number of calls received by Council regarding the roading network has decreased from the years between 2010/11 and 2014/15. However, since 2015/16, the number of calls has fluctuated, but has been much lower on average than in the years previous.
A notable percentage of all the roading calls received have been regarding damage to the road surface or potholes. Other complaints included abandoned vehicles, culvert maintenance, rubbish on roads, parking, and road signs. In 2014/15, a change in the way that data was captured for streetlight complaints meant that data was available only from late January until June 2015. Over this five month period, 99 complaints were received about streetlighting of which 93 of the calls related to maintenance. Calls regarding the roading network included requests for maintenance of footpaths, reports of damage to roads, and queries about the trial closure of a turning lane on Broadway in Matamata.
In 2016/17, 203 complaints were received about streetlighting, and in 2017/18, 189 complaints, were recorded. The few complaints that were not about maintenance related to nuisance caused by glare, damage caused by vehicle accidents and the time the streetlights were turned on or off. In 2016/17, 283 complaints were received about the roading network; the most common complaints were regarding damage to the road, hazardous or slippery material on the road surface. In 2017/18, the number of complaints dropped to 190. In 2018/19 only 133 complaints were received about streetlighting.
Due to changes introduced by the Local Government Act, information has been categorised differently from previous years. This has resulted in both a change to the roading network information that has been sourced, and also to the final figures. 2016/17 is the first full year of the new information requirements.
The New Zealand Transport Agency (NZTA) is responsible for the development and maintenance of the country’s state highways. Council received no complaints between 2008/09 and 2017/18 from the NZTA.
