Napier man's survey shock: It's a 'high crash' intersection, but drivers don't stop

Stuart McKie from Napier concerned about motorists ignoring stop signs. He talks to Hawke's Bay Today reporter Gianina Schwanecke

A Napier man's own "survey" of an Awatoto stop sign has found less than 5 per cent of cars actually stop at the main arterial thoroughfare.

After nearly being "wiped out" at the intersection of Awatoto, Meeanee, Sandy and Brookfields roads, Stuart McKie decided he'd had enough.

"I've had a gutsful," he said.

"I'm concerned there's gonna be an accident here."

It prompted him to conduct his own survey, looking to see how many cars came to a complete stop at the Sandy Rd and Awatoto road stop signs.

He found over the course of a weekday hour between 5pm and 6pm, 104 cars passed through the area with only four stopping.

A week later he conducted the survey between 5.30pm and 6pm, with 120 cars passing through and only six stopping.

Taradale man Stuart McKie has had "a gutsful" of cars not stopping at the intersection of Awatoto, Meeanee, Sandy and Brookfields roads. Photo / Paul Taylor

It amounts to between 4 and 5 per cent of cars actually stopping.

"The rule is you have to stop at the yellow line but people don't have a care," McKie said.

"It's frustrating."

He said it was especially bad after hours as people from Hastings came through and were held up at the Brookfields Rd bridge.

McKie was frustrated as cars that were forced to stop by the car in front of them, wouldn't stop again and would follow the car in front.

Hawke's Bay Today conducted its own survey with McKie over a half hour period on Thursday morning.

Traffic was steady and of the 36 cars which came up to the stop signs on either side, only four came to a complete stop - about 11 per cent.

Stuart McKie did his own survey of the number of cars stopping at the intersection of Awatoto, Meeanee, Sandy and Brookfields roads - he found less than 5 per cent stopped. Photo / Paul Taylor

A spokeswoman for Napier City Council acknowledged the intersection had a "high crash rate", which had included a fatality.

She said work on a major intersection improvements at this site were due to begin in 2027, with $2 million budgeted in the Long Term Plan 2021-2031 for this.

Some changes, including improving the signage and road marking, had already been made in the past three years.

"If any resident is concerned that motorists are not obeying the stop signs we can certainly carry out further monitoring to add to our data."

The council spokesperson said they had not received a complaint about the intersection from McKie.

The council recently conducted video monitoring of the intersection of Hastings St and Vautier St, in Napier, and found that less than 10 per cent of drivers came to a complete stop at the signs.

A temporary roundabout is now being trialled at the busy intersection over the next three months.