Mail delivery

I am far from impressed with the speed NZ Post delivery vehicles travel on the footpaths in Timaru.

Recently I was exiting a dairy in North St and to my consternation one of these vehicles travelling at an estimated 10-15kmh passed in front of the doorway less than a metre from me.

There is not much that frightens me, but in a previous life I saw many instances of severe injury from being struck by moving objects. One step more and it would have been all over for me.

I have witnessed many times excessive speed by these units, and am concerned at the increasing and condoned use of footpaths by motorised transport in many instances without consideration for pedestrians.

I do not like the thought of myself or any other being injured in this manner, so for NZ Post delivery a big ‘‘thumbs down’’.

And for the owners of vehicles who consider the footpaths as your own parking spots often overnight, you are a special type of selfish, but then does the Timaru District Council do any enforcement? I think not.

Mark H Aronsen

Timaru

Response from a NZ Post spokesperson: We are very sorry to hear that you got a fright due to one of our Paxsters travelling along the footpath. While we cannot comment on other motorised transport using the footpaths in your community, we do wish to reassure you that our 100 per cent electric Paxster vehicles do have permission from the local council to use the footpath.

Our operators are required to assess local conditions in order to determine a safe speed – such as the presence of other footpath users, obstacles (eg rubbish bins), blind spots, high fences, slippery surfaces and reduced visibility. Travelling at a speed of up to 15kmh has been deemed to be safe in most instances. However, the speed on the footpath must not exceed 15kmh. Again, we are sorry to hear that you had a less than pleasant experience and have passed on your feedback to the local manager in your area.