Fatal crash prompts safety enhancements on Havelock North road

The Hastings District Council is defending its decision to install a fence around a "dangerous" corner of Tauroa Rd.

It comes more than nine months after 43-year-old mother of two, Megan Nation, died after her vehicle went over the bank, on June 11.

Hastings District Council transportation manager Jag Pannu said a safety audit was carried out after the accident and the decision to install a fence at that site came about as a result.

Pannu said the fence is a sight rail that will improve safety by increasing the visibility of the bend for all road users.

"The aim of the sight rail is to improve safety for all road users. There is a walkway below the trees that customers are encouraged to use rather than walking along this narrow stretch of road as they have been doing in the past."

Other improvements have also been initiated which include road markings, signs and pavement repairs.

He said Council is also in the process of starting a wider corridor management plan study, which will look at all access roads to Te Mata Park, including Tauroa Rd.

However, the decision has been met with opposition by several residents in the area, due to the fact it cuts through a walking track.

A resident, who did not wish to be named, frequently walks that area to and from Te Mata Peak and believes it is "knee-jerk reaction to the fatal crash".

"For me, it is very short-sighted. No thought has gone into it." He believes they should instead extend the track.

"We will now be walking on the road and it is an incredibly dangerous area. The peak is an integral part of the area and this is one of the two major roads to access the peak. It is getting busier all the time."

He says many of the elderly people who walk that way are unable to go through the gully, and when it rains, it is muddy for several days after.

Pannu said they have received one complaint regarding the fence.

"It is a public safety operational matter which is council's duty to perform and council does not normally consult on such operational matters."