Oakura traffic safety measures welcomed

‘‘From our point of view we think it will be a winner.’’

Doug Hislop

Kaitake Community Board chairman

Temporary measures will be imposed at a popular Taranaki seaside holiday destination this summer to reduce traffic speeds.

New Plymouth District Council (NPDC) plans to introduce a 10kmh limit along Oakura’s Tasman Parade, between Wairau Rd and Shearer Dr, while orange posts will be put in place to narrow the carriageway at both ends of the zone and the road will also have a series of painted dots added to it.

The measures aim to address issues raised by residents and beachfront business owners who were concerned the area was an accident waiting to happen, and are in addition to the two raised traffic bumps put in some time ago for the same reason.

It’s intended the speed restriction and posts will be removed at the end of April 2021 but the coloured dots will remain.

Kaitake Community Board chairman Doug Hislop said it was pleasing something was being done to address the issues that had been raised for a number of years.

‘‘From our point of view we think it will be a winner,’’ Hislop said. ‘‘It makes it a safe environment for everybody down there this summer.’’

While Hislop wasn’t aware of any pedestrians being hit or serious crashes in the area he said it was better to be safe than sorry.

‘‘It’s putting in place some traffic-calming to slow down people who are trying to get from A to B as quickly as they can for what ever reason.’’

The effectiveness of the measures will be assessed by the NPDC at the end of summer before any permanent decisions are made.