Whanganui District Council is considering five different scenarios for speed reduction on Papaiti Rd. Photo / Logan Tutty
Whanganui District Council is considering five different scenarios for speed reduction on Papaiti Rd. Photo / Logan Tutty
A speed limit reduction on Papaiti Rd may be considered after residents raised safety concerns.
The limit is 100km/h but some locals say the recently opened Upokongaro Cycle Bridge has increased the number of people using the road and exploring the area.
A Whanganui District Council counter suggests more than30,000 people have visited the bridge in the first six weeks it was open.
Deb Frederikse, who lives a few kilometres beyond Mosquito Pt, said the speed on the road had been an issue for several years.
"Everybody will have a story. They need to go to crawl around those corners. A lot of people in utes just go roaring down the road."
Council senior roading engineer Brent Holmes said the council held discussions with several residents in April and May 2020 about concerns the current speed limit was too high.
"A draft report was undertaken to consider permanent speed reduction options for Papaiti Rd," he said.
The council has lodged a funding submission with Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Agency to do a package of speed limit reductions, including Papaiti Rd.
"We are waiting on the post-construction safety audit report from the Upokongaro Bridge to consider any further safety matters that should be added to finalise the draft report for Papaiti Rd noting further concerns have been raised by residents about parking matters adjacent to the bridge," Holmes said.
The stretch of Papaiti Rd under review is from the existing 50-100km/h speed limit change point to the entrance of the Mosquito Pt recreational area.
Holmes said the council was looking five scenarios for speed reduction on the road but the draft report had not been discussed with councillors as yet.
Whanganui District Council senior roading engineer Brent Holmes says they are waiting on funding from NZTA to proceed in discussions. Photo / Bevan Conley
Frederikse said that just beyond Mosquito Pt was a part of the road the locals call "the bluff" where the road width narrows dramatically and begins to wind.
"There are some particularly sharp bends. I now drive around them at a snail's pace. It's very windy and narrow and you can't see anything around the corners. It's very dangerous.
"There is nowhere to go. You are right on top of the river bank and the only place to go is down the bank and into the river."
Since 2010 the NZTA crash analysis system has recorded 10 crashes on this stretch of road, including two fatal crashes.
Megamaps suggests the safe and appropriate speed limit for Papaiti Rd upstream from the town boundary should be 60km/h.
