Boy racer ban probed

Night-time car bans could be implemented in Waikato as a solution to boy-racer problems.

Frustration at late-night skid sessions flared up in July, when Horotiu residents complained of threats and intimidation on rural roads. There were even reports that molotov cocktails had been thrown.

Now Hamilton City Council may activate parts of its traffic bylaw that could create an overnight car ban in specified spots - a tactic used over the Kaimai Ranges in Tauranga. The provisions have not been used in Hamilton, but Tauranga’s use of them is being monitored by Waikato and Waipa district councillors, who plan to add similar measures to their own bylaws.

The three councils agreed to work together after a July community meeting in Onion Road, Horotiu, where residents shared ideas such as CCTV cameras and curfews.

‘‘We’ve had the clauses sitting there [in our bylaw], so if we needed to use something like that, we could,’’ Hamilton’s network operations team leader, Robyn Denton, said.

It’s a starting point, she said, and an option being explored. Police have given Hamilton City Council heat maps of where most boy racer complaints come from, a report to Hamilton councillors said. Many are in rural areas and others cross council boundaries such as Onion and Raynes Roads but there are several city centre locations.

The city council and police are looking at starting a ban in one of those central city spots as a trial, though they still need to finalise details.

Recommendations will go to the first 2018 meeting of the city council’s regulatory and hearings committee, after nearby property owners and businesses are consulted. It’s not yet certain the plan will go ahead, Denton said.

‘‘Most importantly, we need to make sure that we’re working with the community and businesses in those areas to make sure that this is actually going to make life better for them, not harder for them.

‘‘We’re wanting to work with the police and we’ll be working closely with Waikato and Waipa districts as well, so that we can all learn.’’

There’s also the risk that banning boy racers in one spot simply pushes them somewhere else, she said. One of the popular Waikato gathering areas is near Hamilton Councillor Dave Macpherson’s home, he told colleagues at an October growth and infrastructure meeting.

‘‘When they do move to other areas ... the police are following very closely behind and they’re not getting the chance in that area, a couple of kilometres away, to congregate before they’re moved on again.’’

Waikato District Council has put up no-stopping signs where people were parking in the Onion Road area, councillors heard.

‘‘What they’re seeing from a police perspective is they’ve seen a huge reduction - they haven’t had complaints come through,’’ Denton said.

‘‘It’s one of those issues, though - you apply pressure in one spot, and they’ve got some other locations that are starting to show.’’

Hamilton wouldn’t be the only city to use the bylaws banning powers. Tauranga has used a similar clause to ban cars - and street racing - from various industrial areas from 9pm to 5am.