More concern at dangerous Blackhead Rd

Concerns have been raised about a stretch of Dunedin road where a woman was killed last year.

Blackhead Rd, and particularly the corner near Blackhead Quarries, has been the subject of several complaints to the Dunedin City Council over safety concerns in recent years.

In December last year, Brighton resident Clare Rutter died in a crash in the area.

Quarry manager Gavin Hartley said quarry staff had complained to the council four times.

The main issue was the road camber, or slope of the road to assist with draining rainwater.

"I’m not sure why nothing’s ever been done, maybe something will get done now that it’s taken someone to get killed on it," Mr Hartley said.

"There’s numerous things that we’ve seen."

Many crashes did not get reported, as they were minor, he said.

It was usually a combination of speed and wet conditions that led to crashes there, he said.

"It just adds up to not a good scenario."

A further complaint was made by a different member of the public last week, outlining concerns about the road camber and people losing traction in poor weather.

He noted a friend had written off their car on that corner in wet weather in December 2019.

As well as being sent to council staff, the complaint was sent to Cr Lee Vandervis.

In his response to the complaint, Cr Vandervis said he checked out the corner last weekend. He said he was surprised at how much traffic used the road, and anticipated much more as residential development in the area ramped up.

He suggested extensive signage, flattening the humps leading into the corner from the south, reshaping the corner to have an "inwards falling" camber, and possibly some Armco barriers on the outside of the bend to stop cars going over the edge.

In response to questions from the Otago Daily Times, council transport group manager Jeanine Benson said four complaints relating to the engineering or safety of Blackhead Rd had been received in recent years.

A new roundabout and raised platforms were installed further along Blackhead Rd, at the intersection with Tunnel Beach Rd, last year.

A proposal to reduce Blackhead Rd’s speed limit from 80kmh to 60kmh has been included in changes to the Speed Limits Bylaw, released for public consultation in July 2020, she said.

The Blackhead Rd proposal attracted nine submissions, seven opposed, but was still being considered. It had yet to be considered by councillors.

daisy.hudson@odt.co.nz