Te Mata Peak to close at night

Members of the public will no longer be able to drive to the summit of Te Mata Peak from 10pm to 5am.

Late night drives to the summit of Te Mata Peak will soon be a thing of the past.

Hastings District Council has closed the upper area of Te Mata Peak Rd to the public at night - the gates will close at 10pm and reopen at 5am daily.

The overnight closure is part of a series of council initiatives to make the road safer.

The work included extending the roadside barriers flanking the steepest sections of the road near the summit and installing new gates just above Peak House restaurant.

The Te Mata Park Trust said visitor numbers to the park had increased significantly due to a growing interest in what the area had to offer and as a result of improved recreational facilities, including the recently-completed Top 5 Walking Tracks project.

"We understand that it's pretty disappointing for people not be able to enjoy the night sky from the peak, or viewing the lights across Hawke's Bay, but it's also a sign of the times," trust chairman Bruno Chambers said.

"From the trust's point of view, much of the vandalism, illegal camping and dumping of rubbish in the park occurs in the early hours of the morning, so we won't miss that aspect of night activity.

"Once the visitor and education centre is built, people will still be able to enjoy the spectacular panoramic vistas from the viewing platform without having to navigate the steep and narrow road."

Meanwhile, the trust said it had sought funding from the council to extend the carpark at Tauroa Rd.

"This will double the size of the existing carpark, and expand it into the bottom section of Chambers Walk. The extension will deal with safety hazards created by the increased overcrowding in the carpark and parking overflow on to nearby road verges."

As part of the project in the lower Chambers Walk area, a small stream will be partially culverted - retaining an access area for dogs so they can still enjoy a quick swim and several of the large poplars will be removed.

"We never like chopping trees down, but we have planned replacement landscaping which will incorporate a buffer zone of native planting, providing us with an opportunity to improve this entry to the park, along with the safety of park visitors," Mr Chambers said. "Unfortunately, poplars grow very large and it is not an option to retain them and create extra parking. They are prone to dropping branches and would be a real safety issue for parked cars and park users."