Residents fume in hoons' wake | Auckland News | Local News in Auckland

Manurewa residents think traffic advisers have their heads in the sand over speedsters, writes Rowena Orejana.

Averyn and Dawn Prosser's lovely home stands in The Gardens in Manurewa. Through the glass doors of their lounge the view is serene and restful. Beyond the bush, up the sloping hill, a few ponies and donkeys graze.

Out front, though, is a different story. The long, wide stretch of Charles Prevost Drive is laid out like a racetrack, tempting drivers to step harder on the pedal.

"We get quite a lot of speeding during the day, especially on weekends, like buses that race past," says Mrs Prosser. Fifty buses drive past their house each day.

Last summer, the residents asked the council to slow the traffic. Another resident, Marika Jones, drafted the petition which most of the residents signed.

However, Manukau City Council's traffic adviser, Opus International Consultants, studied the situation and says the number of incidents is low compared to other areas in Manukau and consequentially recommends no changes.

The Opus report says police logged only three calls about boy racing/unsafe driving behaviour in the first half of the year. A "traffic sting", on the other hand, netted 23 infringement notices, 17 of them issued to residents.

"It's irrelevant who speeds," says Mrs Prosser. "The boy racers, as we call them, live locally. But we have no control to slow them down or anything."

Mr Prosser says: "The Opus report is based on information from Police Data Services, which clearly does not have all the facts."

The first traffic checkpoint in the Opus report was done in 2008, near The Gardens School - the median speed was 53km/h.

"But the speed limit past the school is 40km/h. So they're saying 13km/h over the speed limit is too slow to do something about. They obviously need their heads checked," he says.

Speed checks were also done two years ago and much has changed since then, notes Mrs Prosser. There were a lot of 13- to 14-year-olds then riding their bikes or skateboards.

"They are now 15 to 16 and riding behind the wheel of a car. They still think they are on skateboards and bikes the way they drive their cars."

Buses began plying this route last year. Since patronage is low and services have no need to slow at the bus stop outside the Prosser house, they just speed along.

After presenting their counter arguments to Manurewa Community Board, the board decided to investigate the problem further and check the cost of installing traffic-calming devices.

"There were a number of councillors, community board members, who were sympathetic to the request made by the local residents," says chairman Tom Vanderlaan.

"We requested a report on the cost of installing such devices on the road."

The issue remains unresolved until the cost is put forward, explains Mr Vanderlaan.

"The amount would lead to further discussions as to whether we would put the traffic-calming devices in place despite the recommendation of the traffic advisers."

The Prossers remain hopeful.

"The wheels of the council grind slow," says Mr Prosser. "The sooner they can do something, the better."

Speak up

Police have a Community Roadwatch scheme by which people may report bad behaviour of motorists in cases where they do not expect the offender to be prosecuted.

This can be done online or the form may be printed and mailed to police. See www.police.govt.nz/service/road/roadwatch.html

People can also call *555 on a mobile phone to report traffic incidents such as minor crashes, poor driving or breakdowns.