By Mesh MacDonald: Council Candidate Hamilton East
Hamilton doesn’t need to spend more; it just needs to stop spending badly. Drivers are paying for raised platforms (also known as speed bumps) in time, fuel, vehicle wear, and sheer irritation, while the city’s debt keeps skyrocketing. The solution isn’t another review. It’s putting people around the decision-making table who have the skills to determine when a proposal to put in more speed bumps is reasonable or not, and whether the proposed cost makes sense or is ridiculous. Currently these skills and common sense are missing from Council decision making.
We need a clear, resident-first plan to remove the worst offenders and keep genuine safety measures. Where speed bumps are actually justified and useful, priority must be given to use cheaper standardized options rather than expensive bespoke designs.
Better Decision Making
The reality is that we have an avalanche of speed bumps that have appeared across the city that seem to be an automated tick box exercise, “Here’s a roundabout. It needs four speed bumps priced at up to $300k each.” (site)
First steps towards reducing the unrestrained spending on speed bumps requires having Councillors with better business skills and common sense. We can reduce our spending on speed bumps simply by making better choices whether we need them or not, and if so, finding cheaper, more streamlined options that fit within the existing Council budget, rather than options that require rate hikes to pay for them.
Let the Community Decide
Second step is to look at the ones we already have and consider if they actually provide usefulness or not. Many roundabouts around the city function perfectly safely without speed bumps. So where speed bumps do not add to the safety, or increase the unsafety, of using the roundabout, they should be removed. As a community, you know which ones are needed for safety and which ones are overkill.
What could it look like if the community decided which ones to keep and which ones to remove? We could do this by publishing a map of all raised platforms, showing traffic counts and pedestrian volumes. Give residents the power to rank which ones stay and which go, using simple common sense criteria:
a) Low pedestrian use + main road or roundabout exit = remove or flatten
b) High pedestrian use (especially outside schools) = keep or convert to smoother, cheaper alternatives
Removing bumps elsewhere in New Zealand has been both beneficial and financially viable and this is something we should seriously look at for Hamilton.
Use standardized templates rather than bespoke designs
If speed bumps meet the common-sense test, then Hamilton should look to use standardized templates and designs rather than more expensive one-off engineering plans.
Savings can be found through using:
1. Modular asphalt humps with fixed dimensions.
2. Pre-certified drainage and lighting layouts.
3. Standard signage, shelters, and tactile paving sourced through bulk procurement.
The Institution of Civil Engineers found that reference-class cost forecasting and standardized templates reduce optimism bias and overruns on small-scale public works by 25 percent.
Bundle for reduced costs and benchmark against international best practices
If we bundle any new speed bumps with resurfacing, the cost of removal is significantly reduced when done during planned roadworks. We should also be benchmarking our road safety strategies and practices against international best practices, such as UITP’s Better Urban Mobility Playbook, to ensure “value for money” procurement and limit consultant fees to specialized engagements only.
Traffic and roading strategy must fit within a long-term, cross-sector infrastructure plan that balances safety, flow, and cost efficiency. Public consultation and clear oversight will keep objectives clear, manage risks, and hold the council accountable throughout project lifecycles.
Summary
Hamilton’s traffic safety measures have been irritating for drivers, and their vast expense has added to resident frustration. By taking a critical view of if they add value and where, instead of simply adding them as a standard practice to roundabouts, as well as using standardized designs Council can save significantly. Further, by consulting with the community about where they are actually needed and taking out the ones that don’t provide value gives the say back to the community about how they want to move around the city.
Relooking at speed bumps isn’t about undoing safety, it’s about undoing bad spending. With smart prioritisation, Hamilton can restore traffic flow, keep protection where it’s genuinely needed, and redirect millions into the services that matter most. The result? Safer streets, smoother traffic and roads that work for the people who pay for them, for reasonable rate bills for residents of a growing city.
