Hard-to-see speed bump catches drivers off guard

A hard-to-see speed bump already covered in scrapes after just a week has been dubbed the ‘‘crowning glory’’ in a ‘‘never ending saga of mistakes’’.

The new traffic measure along Beaver Rd, part of the Beavereltham cycleway, has residents calling for a rethink, saying it is another ‘‘waste of money’’.

Marlborough Roads hoped the bump would slow down motorists along the 700-metre stretch after finding giveway changes had confused some drivers, and sped up others.

But Blenheim resident David Gibbons, who drove down Beaver Rd ‘‘every other day’’, said he saw a car ‘‘bounce clean off’’ the speed bump last week.

‘‘There’s a tree there that’s shading the road, so you can’t see it, and I saw a car come along here the other day ... it hit it with such a bang, it came off the ground,’’ he said.

‘‘I can’t believe it’s needed. The whole cycleway is being pushed by a certain political party, and it’s cost you and me and every ratepayer in this town a lot of money to put down.’’

Beaver Rd residents Sue and Gerald Sexton said while they supported the rollout of the Beaver-eltham Cycleway, the new speed bump was a ‘‘waste of money’’.

Gerald said in the afternoon a large heritage tree shaded the speed bump, which was originally unmarked before being painted, making it impossible for road users to see.

‘‘We went over it on the way to the market last Sunday and didn’t know it was there. We got such a fright,’’ he said.

‘‘There was nothing, no signs up, to indicate it was there. It’s quite a sharp little one. We felt it jolt the car.’’

It had also done little to deter speeding, as Beaver Rd was still rife with speedsters, who drove ‘‘flat out’’ down the road, he said.

A Beaver Rd resident, who did not want to be named, said the loud noises cars made going over the speed bump had her feeling ‘‘sick and anxious’’.

‘‘People tear down the street, slow down for it and then accelerate again. The screeching affects my house,’’ she said.

On Tuesday night, about 10.40pm, she heard a car at the end of the street ‘‘gun it’’ down the road, and two girls, ‘‘screaming in terror’’, before breaks screeched near the bump.

The next morning, at 5am, she heard ‘‘something like a bomb going off’’ after a car hit the new speed bump.

‘‘I noticed damage to the speed bump the morning after the ‘bomb’ went off. It’s scraped the top of it,’’ she said.

She said she was not consulted about the installation of the speed bump.

Marlborough Roads journey manager Steve Murrin said the council agreed to trial the speed bump to help bring cyclists and motorists to the same speed.