Residents hit back over road

The latest in a string of crashes on the same stretch of state highway near Pareora have left residents ‘‘getting a bit sick’’ of waiting for the road to be made safer.

Yvonne Pringle said the most recent crash on State Highway 1 on Wednesday, the second fatal crash in the area in the last few months, once again had people calling for action to prevent more lives being lost.

The crash between a car and truck left one person dead and another person in hospital. It was the second fatal crash on SH1 between Pareora River Rd and Half Chain Rd in just a few months.

Pringle said at a public meeting in the township, organised by the Timaru District Council (TDC), on August 2, locals asked for a reduction in the speed limit.

‘‘We asked if there could be a 70kmh [limit], but they will not put a 70kmh [limit] on the highway, because [they said] there will be more accidents,’’ Pringle said.

‘‘They won’t do anything to disrupt the speed on State Highway 1 ... everybody ... including both of my neighbours, is talking about this all over again, every time this happens, [a crash] up it [the issue] comes.

‘‘The people that live around here, if you went around the majority of houses they would say the same thing.

‘‘We are the residents here, we know what it’s like. These people don’t come in and use it on a daily basis, and they are dictating to us what we should be doing.’’

Pringle, who lived on The Avenue in the township, said locals were also concerned with the congestion along the road caused by the nearby freezing works, which she said would hinder people getting out of town in the event of a serious emergency.

‘‘If we all had to get out we would have a hell of a job ... say something happened at the freezing works for instance ... in the season there’s approximately 800 [people] up there.

‘‘With King St closed off, getting out onto the main road, we would have a hell of a job.’’

District councillor Sally Parker, who was at the August 2 meeting, said it was a sign of how seriously council was taking the issue.

‘‘That’s why TDC helped facilitate that meeting with Land Transport [New Zealand Transport Agency], so they could attend, because we hear their concerns and we know that they are real concerns.

‘‘But we are still waiting for that report from the NZTA [on possible options] to take back to TDC and the Pareora community.

‘‘We do realise and acknowledge that there is concern. That’s why we helped facilitate that meeting, so the Pareora community could be listened to.’’

In September NZTA senior traffic and safety engineer David Scarlet said its traffic and safety engineers had ‘‘noted all the community concerns’’ and were ‘‘investigating solutions where any change is justified’’.

‘‘The community will be advised of these plans in coming weeks.

‘‘The state highway between Timaru and Glenavy will be made safer this year by centre line rumble strips, which are being installed before Christmas.

‘‘Whilst these cannot stop a driver crossing the centre line, they are an audible and tactile wake-up call for drivers and designed to reduce the incidence of crashes.