We own the poultry farm at the top of the hill of the northern passing lane which has been closed recently. Access to our property has always been adequate for the larger trucks that are required to make frequent visits. We personally have ensured that the access is as good as possible by maintaining a wide entrance. With the recent closure of the passing lane we now have a situation where these trucks have to stop traffic in the northbound lane whilst they wait for the opportunity to cross the southbound lane and enter our driveway. Obviously the other option they have is to approach the property from the southbound lane, which a number of the drivers choose to do already (and have done for a long period of time). The problem with this is that the trucks have to veer out over the northbound lane to make the left turn into the property. This is made much more dangerous by the fact that the northbound traffic is now all confined to what used to be the passing lane. I fear that the changes that are being proposed and have already been implemented as a temporary measure are only going to make the road even more dangerous than it already is. I support the reduction in the speed limit and believe this should be applied for the entire stretch of the road between New Plymouth and Waitara, but believe the removal of the passing lanes is simply spiteful. The result of the closure of the passing lanes, I fear, is going to make the Brixton passing lanes a race track, once frustrated drivers unleash. Richmond Rd intersection (which is already dangerous enough) is simply going to be lethal, not to mention Raleigh Street or Waitara Rd. People will simply treat a median strip to close the passing lanes as a passing lane substitute (unless traffic islands are used). Also a median strip/traffic islands will mean the lanes are going to be out of alignment with the bridge, and cars will start to hit the bridge due to inattention. Simply said, we live in a province that has been and continues to be starved of funding; this is despite our contribution to the nation. This road simply needs to be a dual carriageway and until this is done the various issues aren’t going to go away; each Band-Aid will simply move the problem elsewhere.
L CHILCOTT
Bell Block
