NZTA issues warning targeting vandals on SH2 north of Tauranga

The love hearts sprayed over the road markings on SH2. Photo / John Borren

NZ Transport Agency Waka Kotahi (NZTA) is issuing a warning to those vandalising State Highway 2 to protest the installation of median barriers north of Tauranga.

Twice this week road markings on the highway have been spraypainted over, including with hearts and markings described by NZTA as “offensive”.

Residents of side roads along a section of the highway have been involved in other recent protests against NZTA’s decision to install the barriers near Katikati.

A Wright Rd resident, who wished to remain anonymous, told SunLive residents believed the agency was reducing access to side roads.

“All we are asking for is breaks in it to let us in. Work Rd residents have at least an extra 7km to drive past their road, then double back, using the roundabout to disrupt the natural flow as people use it for a permanent ‘U-turn’, this is a safety issue in itself. It makes zero sense.”

The resident worried about emergency services being able to reach people in time, or motorists being unable to overtake slow vehicles such as tractors until they reached a roundabout.

Other members of the affected communities have written to Transport Minister Simeon Brown and Coromandel MP Scott Simpson in opposition to the barriers.

In response to the first instance of road-marking vandalism earlier this week, NZTA director of regional relationships for the Bay of Plenty and Waikato, David Speirs, said the people who sprayed over the road markings were putting their lives at risk and endangering other road users by walking and lingering on a state highway in the dark.

“In addition, defacing a state highway with graffiti is an act of intentional vandalism, and is a criminal offence, and the action has been reported to NZ Police.”

After the second instance overnight on Wednesday, NZTA said in a statement the road had been “tagged in multiple locations”.

“First and foremost, NZTA’s concern is for the safety of road users and of our crew working on-site.”

“These people are risking their own lives and the lives of other motorists on the road. This is an 80km/h zone and, in the dark, drivers are unlikely to see someone standing on the road until it’s too late. It could cost lives.

“They are also causing additional inconvenience to other SH2 road users because traffic will be impacted while the spraying, some of which is offensive, is removed and the necessary markings reinstated.

“Fifteen hundred vehicles use this route every day, the illegal actions of a few shouldn’t risk the safety of everyone and the situation has been referred to NZ Police.”

Police have been contacted for more information.

- SunLive