The moment a ute hits a crowd watching a boy racer event in Tauranga on Saturday night.
The man behind plans to reopen the controversial Ngongotahā Motorsport skid pad says he is struggling to move forward with the project because he believes Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Agency is yet to give him “clarity” over the necessary safety improvements.
However, Waka Kotahi says that from its perspective, it has provided Leon Khan with a “very clear list” of safety and operational improvements that would need to be implemented to secure its support for the proposed motorsport facility.
The agency says it has also suggested a meeting but this offer has yet to be taken up.
Khan said so far more than 5000 people had signed a petition to reopen the skid pad, which was shut down in 2018 due to a lack of resource consent and following an Environment Court ruling.
The driveway entrance to the proposed venue on whānau-owned land about 18km northwest of Rotorua is at the start of a northbound passing lane.
Khan built the skid pad facility in 2015 and said he safely hosted about 50 events with no accidents or incidents at the off-road facility before its closure.
He said that since 2016, he has had 10 meetings with Waka Kotahi officials to discuss the plans and had given them multiple options to improve the safety access off the highway into the driveway.
This included making changes to the road markings, having no right-hand turn into the driveway and/or moving the northbound passing lane 10 to 20 metres further up the road and extending it the same distance at the other end.
Khan said despite those meetings, he believed he was yet to get clarity from Waka Kotahi about what it wanted him to do to satisfy its concerns.
In response, Waka Kotahi regional manager of system design Jess Andrew said that from the agency’s perspective, Khan and his agent were late last year given a “very clear list” of safety and operational improvements that would need to be implemented.
Andrew said Waka Kotahi had also sought a traffic Impact assessment to inform mitigations required.
“Waka Kotahi suggested a meeting, but this offer has not been taken up as yet. Waka Kotahi’s specialists remain available to discuss these requirements further, including at an in-person meeting. But to date have not received any further correspondence from Mr Khan or his agent on the matter.”
Andrew said the proposal was “feasible” from Waka Kotahi’s perspective.
“But the unambiguous list of safety and operational improvements that Waka Kotahi has advised Mr Khan of, would need to be incorporated into the proposal.
“It is important to note that many of the required measures to mitigate the potential adverse safety effects are costly and Mr Khan would need to give careful consideration to the viability of the project given this fact.”
Rotorua Lakes Council and Waka Kotahi earlier said Khan’s proposed skid pad must be compliant before it reopened.
Khan said he was prepared to make the appropriate improvements to satisfy any resource consent but he could not lodge an application without first working through the project with Waka Kotahi.
The council earlier stated the consent would depend on the ability to meet the requirements of other relevant agencies - in this case, Waka Kotahi, police, Bay of Plenty Regional Council and Department of Conservation.
A car does a burnout in Welcome Bay Tauranga. Photo / Cameron Childerhouse
Khan’s comments come after three illegal street gatherings in and around Tauranga last month blocked intersections and disrupted neighbourhoods, and saw two teenage bystanders injured after being hit by a vehicle.
One person has been charged with sustained loss of traction and failing to stop for police and had his car impounded.
Khan said the level of interest in these sorts of activities was growing.
“We want to provide a facility where people can participate in these activities safely.”
Standing side-by-side: Ngongotaha Motorsport's Leon Khan is meeting with Taupō businessman, Tony Walker. Photo / Mead Norton
Taupō businessman and car enthusiast Tony Walker, the former managing director of Taupō Motorsport Park, has also come on board to offer Khan his expert advice.
Walker earlier said Khan’s ambition had merit and it was an innovative way of creating a safe environment for street racers and “getting the burnout boys off the roads”.
Khan confirmed he had been approached by an official from Te Matai Motorsport to see if he was interested in collaborating on future development plans to construct a multi-purpose concrete pad at TECT ALL Terrain Park between Tauranga and Rotorua.
He said despite lengthy delays, he was determined to push ahead with plans to reopen the Ngongotahā Motorsport skid park because there was clearly massive support as shown by the number of people who signed the petition.
Khan estimated the cost of a consented facility would be at least $250,000, which included the $5000 bill to lodge a resource consent and the tens of thousands of dollars to finalise a business case, which required expensive noise and traffic management assessments.
Khan said he intended to seek crowdfunding and would approach charitable organisations, and potentially get users of the park to pay membership fees.
“This is all about safety, not only for the car enthusiasts who would use the park but also members of the public. Our facility will be well-managed and there will be safety barriers around the skid pad to prevent people getting hit.
“If you don’t provide a safe place for these car enthusiasts to go what happened in Tauranga last month, will happen again.”
