By Wendy Schollum
HDC mayoral candidate
There’s been a lot of noise lately about road cones. A national hotline. A so-called “war on cones.” Ministers and Mayors denouncing their overuse.
And honestly? I get it.
We’ve all been there, crawling through roadworks, cones everywhere, no one in sight, and wondering what it’s all costing.
It’s a fair question. And it’s one councils have been asking too.
Here in Hastings, we’re investing over $94 million in transport this year, as we repair cyclone-damaged roads, maintain key routes, and keep essential infrastructure moving.
In 2024, about 5.2 percent of Council’s transport infrastructure costs went to traffic management. That might not sound like much, but if the same is true this year, even a one percent trim could save nearly a million dollars. That’s money our community wouldn’t need to borrow, which helps ease pressure on rates.
The real issue? It’s not the cones. It’s the system behind them.
For years, councils across the country have had to follow a national traffic management rulebook that didn’t always make sense locally. Whether it was a quiet cul-de-sac or a busy highway, the rules often required the same full setup: cones, signs, stop-go crews and all the paperwork, even when the actual risk was low.
The result? A system that often didn’t match the actual risk. In some cases, it even made things more dangerous.
Thankfully, that’s starting to change.
The old rulebook (CoPTTM) is being replaced with something arguably better: the
New Zealand Guide to Temporary Traffic Management (NZGTTM). It’s designed to be
smarter and more flexible, so safety setups match the job, not just a checklist. Safety is still the priority, but now there’s room for common sense too.
And that matters. We still need to keep our workers, our community, and everyone on the road safe. That’s non-negotiable. But safety doesn’t have to mean overkill.
This shift is about making traffic management smarter and more proportionate, trimming back enforced waste, without cutting corners.
As a member of Hastings District Council’s Risk and Assurance Committee, which keeps a close eye on our community’s financial and operational risks, I was reassured to hear this week that a working group is being set up to guide that shift.
Because whether it’s roads, rubbish, or rates, what matters most is finding savings and practical solutions that work for the people who live here.
So yes, road cones might just be the key to lower rates. But only if we stop blaming the cones… and start fixing the system behind them.
