Councillor suggests 'paint guns' as novel solution to stop speed demons

Flaxmere councillor and Hastings ambassador Henare O'Keefe says the Flaxmere community needs to take back its streets from speeding drivers, and he has a novel suggestion to achieve it.

O'Keefe advocated using paint guns to mark and identify the culprits - but is aware it's not a solution for everyone.

"Let them have a paint gun. It's just one of the many ways we can identify them, we know who they are, we just need evidence," he said.

At a community hui in Flaxmere on Saturday, organised by O'Keefe and fellow councillor Peleti Oli, he said "paint guns" were his personal suggestion, but community policing was still the most effective way to stop the problem.

"The community needs to step up and get evidence to police. They need to nark on these people."

He said "hot spots", including Portsmouth, Wilson, Henderson and Chatham Rds, were also identified at the hui and although they were helpful for police to know, identifying the streets themselves was not a "silver bullet".

"These streets are long stretches of road, but the problem is that when a street is identified and it is policed, it just pushes them onto another street.

O'Keefe also addressed the engineering options discussed by road policing officer Matt Broderick at the hui.

"The issue with using engineering options such as speed bumps, narrowing roads or using traffic cameras was that as soon as one street became a problem for boy-racers, they moved to another one," Broderick said.

O'Keefe added that the likes of speed cameras would also be considered for the hot spots.

"We also considered the use of judder bars, which are being used in certain areas, but then we received noise complaints," he said.

"People are willing to have them, but just not outside their house."

He also suggested a motor rally of police cars, a one-off, to go slowly around the hot spots to "send a signal to the troublemakers and tell them that we know who they are".

"They get a thrill out of the illegal behaviour."

The council would also continue to investigate narrowing some of the wider streets, which encouraged speeding and burnouts, when they became due for major works, he said.

"I do believe police and council have a role to play, but the most effective thing is the community speaking up."

Broderick added the most effective thing residents could do was phone police as soon as car racing or burnouts started.

"People have a tendency to put up with it for about 30 minutes and then call us," he said.

"That's about the time they spend in one place before moving on. Call us straight away. Get a number plate and car description if you can – video if you can do it without risk."

He said residents should phone 111 the minute it started or 105 or Crimestoppers (0800 555 111) if they were calling later with information.

Broderick said the message the community could get out through whānau, friends and social media channels was: "We are not having this any more; it is risking the lives of us and our children; we will be filming you; we will be reporting you to police; police will impound your vehicle."

Next steps include investigating easy ways for residents to provide information to the council, collating the information from Saturday's meeting and preparing action points, and building a database of the attendees who want to be kept up-to-date with progress.

• Residents wanting to be added to the database can email: customerservice@hdc.govt.nz, with "Flaxmere streets" in the subject line.