In order to draw attention to a number of potholes on Kahikatea Flat Road, Geoff Upson drew large green penises around the potholes. Video / Geoff Upson
Geoff Upson has been contacting road authorities about the state of the road near his home for about 18 months but nothing has been done about it.
Since taking the high road was getting him nowhere, the Auckland man decided to draw giant penises around the potholes, in the hope they'll grab the council's attention.
Earlier today, Upson went live on Facebook showing the two 20-metre long penises he has drawn earlier on Kahikatea Flat Rd, near Waitoki.
The fluoro green penises, about 1.2m in width, surrounded the numerous potholes on the road, drawing attention to the hazards.
Speaking to the Herald, Upson explained he decided to draw "a great artist's impression of a penis" to get local road authorities to fix the road.
"I decided to do this as I have been driving over this stretch of road for 18 months and this is usually repaired using a temporary patch, and I estimate this temporary repair is carried out 35-45 times per year," he said.
According to Upson, "many other people in the area are also frustrated with the quality and some people have even damaged their cars on this piece of the road".
"There are also a few other potholes which are filled in regularly along this road, Kahikatea Flat Rd, but this is the worst part," he added.
Upson says the "civilised" way of approaching the matter has not worked in 18 months but he hopes the giant penises will lead to a solution.
"I've seen it overseas, someone has done the same thing. They drew penises around the potholes and the council was forced to fix the potholes because people started complaining about the penises," he says in the video.
Kahikatea Flat Rd is a busy road which connects State Highway 16 to Dairy Flat Highway. Upson says the road registers about 6,200 daily traffic movements, including a high number of heavy vehicles.
Upson's video gathered more than 4000 views in just a few hours.
Auckland Transport (AT) says it is looking into the situation.
"A permanent fix will be done on this section of the road to ensure this problem stops happening," James Ireland, media adviser for Auckland Transport told the Herald.
"We understand this has been frustrating for drivers, and they can rest assured this will be fixed."
Ireland also added that this road is "scheduled for a permanent repair" and, in the meantime, AT "will be painting out the offensive graffiti".
"Mr Upson may want to reflect on the extra cost that his actions have imposed on local ratepayers," Ireland said.
