A woman was taken to Hawke's Bay Hospital with moderate injuries after being hit by a car outside KFC Hastings last Thursday. Photo / Blair Voorend
A woman was taken to Hawke's Bay Hospital with moderate injuries after being hit by a car outside KFC Hastings last Thursday. Photo / Blair Voorend
A woman involved in one of two crashes last week outside KFC in Hastings says recurring incidents on the nearby road warrant a rethink of its layout.
Last Tuesday, Rebecca Premadasa was turning left into KFC from the lights on Heretaunga St West when someone "slammed" into the back ofher.
"Another lady in her car was coming out of KFC and because the entrance is so narrow you have to kind of give way to make sure you can easily get past," Premadasa said.
"And the guy behind me ... went right into the back of me."
On Thursday, a similar crash occurred and a woman was taken to nearby Hawke's Bay Hospital with moderate injuries.
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Premadasa said her own crash, at 2.30pm, happened when the road was busy with school traffic. She was not injured.
"There seemed to be a lot of school traffic but also just a lot people just going to cafes, the bank or even the pharmacy," she said. "It's quite a busy little area there."
Hastings KFC has had issues with traffic for years. This photo was taken of a typical Wednesday night in 2011. Photo / Glenn Taylor
Premadasa believes the problem stems from a lack of warning signs or traffic "calming measures" on the road adjacent to or near the narrow KFC entrance.
"It's really dangerous especially with that roundabout when people tend to speed up coming off it when really you need to be aware of what is happening especially in that busy little area there."
She said that there needed to be a rethink around the road layout and the KFC entrance.
"It is definitely an area that needs to be replanned and fixed because the way it is now with the lights and the traffic built up isn't good at all."
Hastings District Council transportation manager Jag Pannu said safety strategies were put in place for only high-risk roads. With no serious injuries or fatalities outside the KFC, the stretch of Heretaunga St West wasn't yet seen as a high priority.
Pannu said council officers monitor crashes for any trends and patterns that could mean road improvements are needed.
Although recent crashes are not yet on the system, Pannu said the council would look into recent events and work on any improvements if it is deemed necessary.
"A report on the most recent crash has not yet been entered into the Crash Analysis System by the police. Once we have this, we will use the information to improve the safety if it is required."
KFC did not respond before deadline to a request for comment.
