As well he said, motorists sit in the middle of the road with traffic going 80km/h both coming towards them and behind them.
"If a cattle truck or logging truck pulls to the middle of the road (to turn right), traffic can't get past."
Vinegar Hill Rd resident Wendy McCumber said previously motorists could see over the bridge when they came off Snake Hill and would time their approach to make the turn without stopping.
"They don't feel good coming to a stop on the SH1."
She wants to see a right hand turning bay painted in the middle of the road so traffic can stop safely.
Another long-time resident said he is more nervous making that turn than previously. Motorists are also concerned about turning right out of Saleyards Rd.
"The risk is if you're parked at the yellow line you're going to have the trailer of a truck hit you," Ms McCumber said.
When the Advocate visited the site, the majority of vehicles that turned in, cut across the lane in some way.
"I'm really concerned about safety, there will be a death here," Ms McCumber said.
Mr Gibbon's other concern is with the school bus, which used to drop children from Kamo Intermediate and Kaurihohore Primary at the bus stop on Saleyards Rd in the afternoon.
He said the area the bus used to pull in has been used to make the southbound lane of Saleyards Rd and the bus stop moved to within two metres of the road.
Mr Gibbons said there is no way the bus would be able to get in and around to the bus stop.
A Richies spokesperson said the new layout of the intersection needs to be investigated before a decision on whether the bus would return to the stop would be made.
Kaurihohore School principal Leslee Allen said the school is happy that something was done to address the risk for drivers being rear-ended while turning into Saleyards Rd.
She said she hopes the changes are a starting point, not an end point.
Whangarei MP Shane Reti was pleased with the changes after lobbying NZTA to get the whole area around the school looked at.
He said in the past week he has heard of the concerns with turning right off the highway and had raised them with NZTA.
"I think some of these concerns the community have newly raised are valid concerns and I want NZTA to look at them."
NZTA system design manager Brett Gliddon said the first stage of improvements are complete and further improvements are now being developed for the intersection.
"An island was installed at the intersection to encourage people to stop before making a right hand turn rather than slipping across the road at high speeds which has been the current behaviour."
Plans are now under way for a right-turn bay and an additional light to improve visibility at night. However there is no timeline at this stage. He said the changes were implemented in response to community feedback.
"We have met residents to hear their concerns and explain the second phase of planned changes."
