“We receive complaints every year from beachgoers, often families, about the behaviour of drivers and their determination to treat the beach like a private racetrack, despite educational campaigns and appeals for restraint,” Fulljames said.

Karioitahi Beach is one of two beaches in the Auckland region to be listed as a designated road, the other being Muriwai in West Auckland.

Motor vehicles were prohibited on other Auckland beaches, except for launching or recovering boats and in emergency situations.

At a recent meeting of Auckland City Council’s Regional Transport Committee, members adopted the Katoa, Ka Ora (speed management plan) for the area.

Mr Fulljames said Auckland Transport and Auckland Council were working together to accommodate the iwi’s request and obtain approval from the Director of Land Transport for the change to achieve certification.

“Once new speed limits are introduced, the new speed limit will be entered into the national register.”

A 20km/h speed limit will apply for the full length of Karioitahi Beach in the north and then all the way to the Waikato border in the south.

“We expect the application to be entered into the register in early November.”

Vehicle access to Karioitahi Beach is only possible from the north and south sides of the car park.

The city council said no vehicles were allowed on the beach directly in front of the car park as it was the busiest swimming area.

The only safety signage for beachgoers is in the car park, but it was expected that Auckland Transport would install signage on the road leading to the car park to advise of the change.

In 2023, Karioitahi Beach received a hazard rating of seven out of 10, placing it in the top ten most dangerous beaches in the country for swimming.

LDR is local journalism co-funded by RNZ and NZ On Air.

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