Yellow lines proposed for safety; car parks could go

BLUFF

DOZENS of car parks may be removed near a popular tourist spot in Bluff in a bid to improve safety.

The NZ Transport Agency is proposing to add nostopping yellow lines on one side of State Highway 1, near Stirling Point.

If the proposal goes ahead, up to 34 car parks may need to be removed from the western side of a 150m strip of the highway in Marine and Ward Pdes.

Agency safety engineers team lead Roy Johnston said the idea was in response to concerns raised by the Bluff 2024 group about the many vehicles leaving Stirling Point, then stopping without indicating near the crest of a hill on the highway.

‘‘This creates safety issues, as there isn’t enough room for highway traffic to safely pass because of vehicles parked on both sides of the highway,’’ he said.

Bluff 2024 spokeswoman Tammi Topi said she was pleased the idea had been put out for public consultation after two years of pushing for change.

The group had made ‘‘countless’’ phone calls to the agency and the Invercargill City Council and also met staff from both organisations at the site to discuss the issue numerous times since 2018.

‘‘We were getting worried it would just get lost in the system.’’

Stirling Point was growing in popularity and visitor numbers, so it was time the issue was resolved, she said.

‘‘It reduces the road to a single lane when vehicles park there and it becomes a blind spot.’’

When cars were parked along the strip, there was only a small space between the white line and the kerb, she said.

‘‘You’re not really losing any parks because it’s not really a park [in the first place].’’

Miss Topi hoped involved parties would be able to come up with a longterm solution to improve road safety without hindering visitor numbers.

Mr Johnston said that under the proposal, parking would remain on the eastern side of the highway, which would help offset the loss of other parking.

The agency was seeking submissions on the proposal, which could be made in writing or emailed by December 18.

Once it had considered feedback, a decision would be made in early 2021 on a bylaw change, potentially allowing the nostopping lines to be installed.