Locals expect more death on SH2

Fatal motor accidents plague the stretch of road from Bethlehem to Katikati. Photo / George Novak

Te Puna locals fear it is only a matter of time before another person is killed on SH2 between Bethlehem and Katikati.

Three people were killed on Saturday night after a van and car collided and burst into flames.

Tevunga Vaea, 71, her daughter Louina Vaea, 45, and daughter-in-law Takua Vaea, 32, died in the crash. The women were travelling in the van with six other relatives and were heading to Tauranga to spend time with a relative for Mother's Day. Two others were also injured.

Craig Newton, Dorje owner and Minden resident, told the Bay of Plenty Times he believed it was a matter of time before someone else died on the notorious stretch of highway.

Mr Newton said high volumes of people were moving into the area and would continue to do so.

"People need to accept it's not rural any longer, it's basically city zone."

Mr Newton said zoning in Minden had been changed from semi-rural to residential and speed limits should follow suit.

"It's a major problem, one has died out the front here and three further down the road, it's going to happen out here again without a doubt."

Te Puna Heaven and Home owner Julie Bourke said she would hear emergency sirens nearly every day from her store.

"I count them, one you just think it's a cop chasing someone, two I think 'uh-oh' and then three sirens and I think 'oh s**t'. Ms Bourke said she had asked for a speed reduction in the area.

"It's just a really nasty stretch of road. It's almost a daily basis I do hear the sirens and you worry about what's happening. It's awful."

Ms Bourke said the Minden-Te Puna intersection was also concerning for those who used the roads.

"There are so many people taking there kids to school, there's the traffic, the big trucks ... along here, this building shakes when they go past. I get little mini-earthquakes several times a day."

Straightening out the road, putting in passing lanes and a roundabout at the intersection could reduce the number of fatal accidents, she said.

Pahoia resident John Masters said median barriers down the middle of SH2 would dramatically cut the road toll between Bethlehem and Katikati.

The former Wellingtonian was horrified by the number of people who had lost their lives on the stretch of road since he shifted to Pahoia three years ago.

He believed the Bay's roading authorities should heed the lessons of Kapiti Coast on SH1 between Pukerua Bay and Paekakariki. What was formerly an accident black spot similar to SH2 had been completely tamed by the installation of 10km of median barriers.