Fed-up Careys Bay residents are playing a daily game of musical chairs with the council, repeatedly moving about 50 road cones blocking their route to town. About a month ago, a small slip on private property encroached into Aramoana Rd, past the Careys Bay Hotel. The mud that went on to the road was cleaned up. However, since then about “50-odd” road cones have been placed reducing the area to one lane, and locals had decided they have had enough. A Careys Bay resident said people had taken to shifting the road cones out of the way themselves. “They’ve been just sitting there just blocking the road off . . . the mud that came down didn’t cause any problems at all.” He said there was no sign of any work being done at the site, there was no visible reason why the section of road should be shut off and the sheer volume of cones used was an embarrassing waste. What started with locals shifting the cones in frustrations, turned into a tit-for-tat with contractors. Someone regularly moves the cones out of the way, until a contractor puts them back in place — then someone moves them once again. “It’s the most ridiculous situation I’ve ever seen.” A Dunedin City Council spokesman said the temporary traffic management — including all the road cones — was there to keep people safe. They asked people to respect their presence. ”Although the volume of material which has come down on to the road is small and has been removed, concerns remain about the stability of the slope above the road.” He said the slip was for the property owner to deal with, but he acknowledged the inconvenience the cones were causing. “We are taking a cautious approach to ensure public safety and we encourage everyone to be patient while the matter is addressed.” laine.priestley@odt.co.nz
