Waihou residents have been campaigning for more than 20 years for help to slow speeding traffic through the small Waikato town, and on Friday night their fears came true when a local motorcyclist was killed.
The 45-year-old was travelling east along SH26 in Waihou towards Te Aroha, when his motorbike collided with a car turning out of Campbell St about 6.45pm.
The man died at the scene. The car's occupants, an elderly couple understood to be from Te Aroha, were shaken but uninjured.
One resident said the motorbike looked "pretty munted", another said it appeared the motorcycle had been travelling quite fast.
A sharp corner on the stretch of road between Ngutumanga Rd and Campbell St has concerned residents for a number of years.