A new set of average speed cameras on Matakana Road will officially become active from 1 December, with NZ Transport Agency (Waka Kotahi) confirming enforcement will begin after more than a year of installation and testing.

The cameras are located just after the Matakana Link Road roundabout as you leave Warkworth, with the enforcement zone ending before Wright Road. The current speed limit for this stretch is 80 km/h.

According to Waka Kotahi, the cameras have been in place for some time but have not yet issued fines while systems were calibrated. Testing is now underway, and from early December drivers travelling too fast between the cameras can expect infringement notices.

Waka Kotahi says the purpose is to reduce dangerous driving behaviour.

“Average speed safety cameras measure how long it takes you to travel between two points. If your average speed is over the legal limit, that indicates you’ve travelled too quickly to be driving safely,” the agency states. “Our aim is to reduce the number of people travelling over the speed limit and lessen the likelihood of a serious or fatal crash.”

The cameras are the first of seven average-speed systems planned in Auckland, and part of a total rollout of 17 nationwide.

Average-speed cameras are commonly used overseas, where they are considered more effective at addressing ongoing excessive speed than traditional fixed-point cameras.

However, some locals are questioning why Matakana Road has been chosen as an early priority.

Publicly available crash data indicates there have been only two fatal crashes on Matakana Road since at least 2010 – one in 2017 and another in 2021. With the road often operating below the speed limit due to congestion, particularly on weekends when the Matakana Village Farmers Market draws heavy visitor traffic, residents say speed is not the primary risk.

Many point instead to issues such as driver impatience in slow-moving queues, turning movements at busy side roads, and seasonal tourism surges as greater contributors to pressure on the route.

Despite this, Waka Kotahi maintains the cameras are being placed in areas where people are still at risk if speed limits are exceeded. They also emphasise warning signage ahead of the enforcement zone so drivers are aware they are entering a monitored section.

Future upgrades in the corridor

In addition, Auckland Transport has confirmed a broader upgrade programme for Matakana Road and its surrounds:

• AT’s “Matakana Road Upgrade” project involves transforming the corridor between the Hill Street intersection and the northern rural-urban boundary into an urban arterial with walking and cycling facilities. Works include widening around intersections, footpaths, cycle lanes, upgraded stormwater systems, batter slopes and associated earthworks. No funding for detailed design or construction has yet been allocated; delivery is aimed “sometime within the next 30 years”. Auckland Transport
• A related project, the “Sandspit Link”, proposes a new arterial connection between Matakana Road and Sandspit Road within the northeast Warkworth future urban zone. Again, detailed design and construction funding are not yet in place; the project horizon is up to 30 years out. Auckland Transport
• The completed “Te Honohono ki Tai – Matakana Link Road” (a 1.35 km new connection between Matakana Road and SH1) has already opened, aimed at improving network resilience and access eastwards towards beaches and growth areas.

These future upgrades suggest that AT views Matakana Road not just as a current traffic corridor, but as a key link in what’s described as “Warkworth / North Auckland future urban growth”. Auckland Transport

This context may help explain why speed-monitoring infrastructure is being put in place ahead of the major upgrade works.