"He didn't tell me because he did not know - it was a mistake."
The error was discovered when Cr Guy phoned to thank another council roading engineer. Council's transportation operations manager Martin Parkes was informed and responded by email the next morning that the sign was "incorrect".
Mr Parkes told the Bay of Plenty Times that a subsequent investigation showed that no instruction was issued by the council to the signs installation contractor to replace the 70km/h sign. Likewise the contractor did not recall changing the sign, he said.
"Someone jumped the gun and we are not sure who it was. It is a bit odd. All our investigations have come to a dead end."
Mr Parkes said it looked like a properly constructed sign but was unlawful and had to come down. His experience of similar occurrences in the UK was that it could be a resident but he could not say for sure.
Mr Guy dismissed the suggestion it was a mischievous local because the sign was brand new, bore a manufacturer's sticker, was mounted on a new powder coated pole and set in fresh concrete with a PVC insert. "It is not the work of a disgruntled local."
Mr Guy said the dangers facing cyclists and pedestrians had worsened since a walkway/cycleway was built to link Freeburn Park with The Lakes. It had increased the numbers of people walking and cycling through the area.
"It is a fatality waiting to happen. You don't need a degree in road safety to know that 70km/h is too fast for these narrow roads in a residential area."
Mr Parkes said the speed limit in Freeburn Park would be considered as part of the council's annual review of speed limits. There was a good chance it would be reduced, he said.
