No lights and broken permits
Imagine waiting up to ten minutes to cross a road to do your job? This is the current issue for some residents, truck drivers, staff and business owners turning into the Silverdale Business Park.
The intersection of Silverdale Street, Tavern Road and the Hibiscus Coast Highway is known to be busy and hard to cross especially for heavyweight trucks.
Resident and previous president for the Silverdale Business Association Lorraine Sampson shared her frustration about the absence of lights and how dangerous the intersection can be.
Sampson said trucks are forced to wait for up to ten minutes sometimes to turn into Tavern Road due to their permits given by the New Zealand Transport Agency.
‘‘Cars do not slow down for them, this is causing track drivers to get frustrated and unfortunately use East Coast Road which is against their permit.’’
If truck drivers are seen using other roads, companies can lose their permits and face heavy penalties.
Sampson said the lights were in a Country Long Term Plan in 1976.
‘‘There has been lights popping up all over the place but not here which is frustrating. It is costing businesses and people money and time.’’
Due to this a lot of people have been seen doing illegal turns out of Wainui Road and also at the intersection.
‘‘Cars are coming out of the Silverdale Village and turning right to avoid the 2.5 km detour.’’
‘‘There is 320 businesses on our list over that side of the road and at least 3000 workers.’’
Golden Contracting Ltd’s Mark Golden said the lights would make it easier to access the coast and surrounding areas but overall the lights don’t really effect their business as they do not cart on permit.
AT spokesman Mark Hannan said they have been investigating improvements.
‘‘The investigation identified that a signalised intersection is the preferred option as it would improve access into the commercial areas. The next step is to draft an Indicative Business Case, which is needed to assess the economic impacts of the improvements. After this, public consultation will be undertaken to ensure the community has their say.’’