Mayor calls for road block to Wairarapa
South Wairarapa’s mayor wants a police checkpoint permanently set up at the bottom of the Remutaka Hill Road to stop people flouting the lockdown.
Alex Beijen said on Thursday that police caught an average of seven unauthorised drivers each hour in the time it had a checkpoint set up at Te Marua, in Upper Hutt.
He said the number of people trying to use the Remutaka Hill Road for non-essential trips was unacceptable and he had asked police to make that Te Marua checkpoint a 24-hour, permanently staffed fixture until Wellington came out of level four restrictions, or until zero incidences of breaches were found for two consecutive days.
His request comes after police said people were driving across the ranges to buy groceries in Featherston, because of the difficulty getting into supermarkets in Wellington.
The problem appeared to be worsening, with reports from the South Wairarapa community about Wellington homeowners travelling over to stay at their second homes in Wairarapa because of boredom.
‘‘We’re not calling for a total stop of every car, only stopping of vehicles that don’t look like they’re essential services or trucks/vans.
‘‘There’s a feeling of frustration . . . We’re doing our best to maintain the lockdown . . . but people in Wellington are deliberately breaching the rules.’’
He said the request was received positively by police, and South Wairarapa District Council was ‘‘very confident’’ it would be addressed.
Inspector Scott Miller said just 14 out of 233 vehicles stopped at Te Marua were found to be on nonessential business, either travelling to holiday homes or for recreation.
He said local authorities in Wairarapa had identified a strong community desire for checkpoints but they would remain ‘‘ad hoc’’.
Operations would focus on the entry and exit points in the northern and southern parts of the region, rural roads linking towns, and roads likely to be used to access holiday homes and recreation areas.
‘‘For operational purposes, the exact details of time, date and place will not be advertised to the public.’’
Only a small group of motorists were deliberately ignoring the situation, Miller said. ‘‘It is our intention to continue the current police practice of engaging and communicating with all persons, educate if required ... and enforce in the form of warnings or prosecutorial measures only if absolutely necessary.’’
Upper Hutt Mayor Wayne Guppy said if everybody adhered to the rules, ‘‘we won’t need to have any of these actions’’.
Police also set up a checkpoint at Plimmerton in Porirua on Thursday. Porirua Mayor Anita Baker said there was no need to make that checkpoint permanent, because ‘‘our people are behaving’’.