Deadly road ‘a disgrace’
It’s a disgrace that nearly 50 people have died on a 20-kilometre stretch of State Highway 2 in Upper Hutt, the city’s mayor says.
Wayne Guppy made the comments after two more people were recently hospitalised following crashes on the road – a motorist in a two-vehicle accident on Christmas Eve, and a cyclist struck by a van on Monday. He has joined a chorus of others calling on authorities to stop the carnage.
Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Agency figures show 48 fatalities between Western Hutt Rd and Kaitoke since 1987 – the year the River Road section was opened to bypass the city. Three deaths have occurred on the stretch since August – two on River Rd, and the other on Main Rd North further along SH2.
Statistics from the Ministry of Transport’s website show there were 13 road deaths in the Wellington region in the 12 months to January 4.
“[River Rd] was never meant to cope with the level of traffic that’s on it now. It was meant to be an arterial route for the city, not a state highway. There’s no other way to describe it but ‘dangerous’,” Guppy said.
He said the volume of traffic on SH2 was increasing by the day as the region’s population grew. Serious accidents were happening every other week.
“There have been problems on it since day one. They wouldn’t build it like this today – it was done cheap and nasty.”
The recent deaths had been tragic, he said.
In August, motorcyclist Rachel Pawsey died when she was struck by a car at the Moonshine Hill Rd intersection with River Rd, while in October another motorcyclist died further north on Main Rd North in Timberlea. In November, a person was killed in a two-car crash on River Rd.
Wellington District road policing manager Inspector Wade Jennings said the Upper Hutt section of SH2, in conjunction with the section running south to
Belmont in Lower Hutt, was one of three high-priority roads in the region. The others are the Ka¯piti Expressway, and SH2 between Featherston and Masterton.
High traffic volumes, and multiple on and off junctions created conditions where accidents were likely to occur, Jennings said. The road also frequently changes from two lanes to one. The many light-controlled intersections and passing lanes could also frustrate motorists.
Upper Hutt City councillor Angela McLeod said changes intended to improve safety near Upper Hutt over the years, such as the lights, did provoke bad driving. ‘‘People make mistakes, but people shouldn’t have to die for them.’’
She said she avoided using River Rd as much as possible because she believed it was dangerous.
Both Guppy and McLeod said the road was in need of a redesign, with the intersections and speed limits in particular need of attention. Making the road four
lanes along its length would also make it safer, Guppy said.
RemutakaMP Chris Hipkins said he had long had concerns about the road, and was also an advocate of making it two lanes in either direction. ‘‘Ultimately, SH2 needs to be a four-lane expressway from Ngauranga to ... beyond Upper Hutt.’’
He said this would require a large investment and would take time, but it was clear that more immediate solutions were needed to prevent more crashes.
NZTA regional transport systems manager Mark Owen said the agency was prioritising an assessment of the speed limit on the southern part of SH2, which included the section near Upper Hutt.
He said there was no plan for a fourlane expressway, but safety improvements were being planned for the corridor between Lower Hutt and Upper Hutt.
‘‘It is expected that the improvements may include amedian barrier at the northern end of the corridor, localised speed reductions, raised safety platforms, and other speed management devices such as signage.’’
Jennings said speed camera vans and patrols were busy on SH2 near Upper Hutt as ameans of deterring people from taking risks.