Ambulance at the Western Hills Drive and Kamo Rd intersection after a 14-year-old window washer fainted. PHOTO/FACEBOOK
Ambulance at the Western Hills Drive and Kamo Rd intersection after a 14-year-old window washer fainted. PHOTO/FACEBOOK
The issue of window washers has been a hot topic in Whangarei and the heat overcame one young window washer who fainted.
There was speculation on the Stop the Window Washers New Zealand Facebook page that the 14-year-old boy had been hit by a car at the Western Hills Driveand Kamo Rd intersection on Monday. But Northland St John operations manager Tony Devanney said it was a hot day and the boy had fainted.
St John ambulance staff assessed the boy but he was not injured, Mr Devanney said.
The influx of window washers on State Highway 1 and Rewa Rewa Rd, Maunu Rd and SH14, and Western Hills Drive and Kamo Rd has frustrated Whangarei residents who have questioned the lack of action taken against the practice. However, the state highway network route through Whangarei was under the control of the New Zealand Transport Agency not the Whangarei District Council so was not subject to the local bylaw.
This meant police had no power to remove window washers from these intersections unless they committed a criminal offence.
Brett Gliddon, NZTA Northland highway manager, said NZTA was working with police and WDS to create a bylaw which would make it easier for police to issue instant infringement notices, rather than through other enforcement means which may be available.
"The New Zealand Transport Agency understands window washers are causing concerns for people but reiterates that the best way to discourage window washers from operating in the area is for motorists not to pay or engage with them," he said.
