Speeding in Castlecliff, Whanganui spurs petition to district council

Mark Harper says Manuka St is now "the main road" into Castlecliff. Photo / Bevan Conley

A serious accident last month was “the last straw” for Castlecliff residents demanding something be done to reduce vehicle speeds in their suburb.

Six-year-old John Major Taurua McKay suffered brain injuries, multiple skull fractures and broken ribs after a hit-and-run on Cornfoot St near the Rangiora St intersection on November 11.

This week, Cornfoot St resident Mark Harper presented the Whanganui District Council with a petition calling for speed reduction devices to be installed between the Manuka and Rangiora St intersections of Cornfoot St.

Harper said the whole dynamic of Castlecliff had changed in the 11 years he had lived on the street.

It had become a children- and family-oriented area, he said.

“My biggest problem in Castlecliff is our race track, which is Cornfoot St, Manuka St and Polson St.

“I’ve been ringing the police for 11 years on the situation of traffic and how fast they move up there. I went in there a fortnight ago and was told boy racers were not a priority.”

Harper said that meant it was open slather for “street racers, boy racers, car enthusiasts, whatever they want to call them themselves”.

People in the community had suggested speed humps and roundabouts.

“One of the best suggestions was a packet of Z nails but we’d have to go and pick them up afterwards so we can’t do that,” Harper said.

“What I would really like to see is a couple of roundabouts on Cornfoot St to break the street up - to stop it being a race course.”

He said 200 cars from out of town had recently come to the area on a Saturday night.

Manuka St had become the main road from the city into Castlecliff in recent years, following the upgrades to Mill Rd and the opening of the Fitzherbert St extension, Harper said.

“People treat it like they treat a highway - at 80km/h at any time. As soon as it gets dark, it’s 130km/h.

“You can hear them coming but you can’t do anything. The police tell you to get a photo. Yeah, sure, at 3.30am I’m going to go and take photos of cars.”

Harper said he wanted something to be done, even if it was just portable road bars.

“These fellas won’t know when they’re going to turn up. If they go over one of those at 130km/h, they are going to break an axle.

“We were very lucky Major didn’t die but someone is going to get killed up there and it’s going to be a kid.”

Harper’s letter to the council said after many near misses and accidents, the incident involving John Major Taurua MacKay was “the last straw”.

According to the council meeting agenda, the petition had 87 signatures.

Harper said they were collected in seven hours.

Whanganui Mayor Andrew Tripe said speeding was a nationwide problem and “the more noise we make the better”.

“It’s not just boy racers, it‘s wider than that.

“One of our roles as decision-makers and governors in our community is to have a safe community.

“Thank you for bringing it to us. It’s on the agenda for us to take forward into the new year.”

Harper asked if it was possible to get a painted pedestrian crossing at the Cornfoot St/Rangiora St intersection for summer.

“You fellas would paint that in a couple of hours on the road.”

Chief executive David Langford said the council’s operations and roading teams would report back with recommendations on what could be done and if more budget was required.

However, if there were low-cost measures that could be delivered quickly, they would be actioned following discussions with the community, Langford said.

Mike Tweed is an assistant news director and multimedia journalist at the Whanganui Chronicle. Since starting in March 2020, he has dabbled in everything from sport to music. At present his focus is local government, primarily the Whanganui District Council.