There are concerns it may only be a matter of time before someone is seriously injured, after multiple drivers have reported losing control of their vehicles on a slippery section of Portobello Rd.
A crash between a car and a bus on Sunday morning is the latest in a string of incidents on the section of road, near Doon St.
Fortunately, only one person received minor injuries in the incident.
Otago Peninsula Community Board chairman Paul Pope said he had received about 30 messages of concern about the road recently, from people who had spun out, and others who had narrowly avoided hitting the barrier on the corner.
They were likely just the tip of the iceberg, he said.
"I had lots of emails about it last week when we had all that really wet weather, but it doesn’t seem to matter whether it’s wet or dry.
"There just seems to be something going on there — something to do with the oil or tarseal there. It’s quite rutted and worn.
"I had a little slip there myself actually, while I was towing a trailer with a load of gravel."
Mr Pope said he had contacted the Dunedin City Council transport department and raised the issue.
"My understanding is there are things in play around that area.
On social media, he told peninsula residents that DCC transport staff were working on "a package of corner repairs to be undertaken around Company Bay and Mission Cove to address similar issues".
"When that work is started, this corner [near Doon St] will be repaired also.
"I can’t give you an exact timeframe at this stage, but it should be over coming months."
However, after the bus versus car accident on Sunday, he rang the DCC again and asked if the accident would bring the timing of the work forward.
He was told the DCC was waiting to hear the result of an accident inquiry into the cause of the crash before moving ahead with any plans.
"It just seems to be something about that corner — even on a dry day, but particularly when it’s been wet.
"There’s something leaching out of the seal.
"There’s no reason for the amount of vehicles having problems there."
Mr Pope said about 340,000 tourists travelled on the route in a variety of types of transport, along with a large number of residents on the peninsula.
"It is something that we definitely need to get dealt with.
"I think if we can resolve this issue as quickly as possible, that’s going to be a good thing for everybody concerned.
"The last thing we need is someone that we know getting injured, but also we don’t want someone who’s visiting the area getting injured either."
Since the road widening project was completed, safety on the road had changed inexorably, he said.
"We haven’t had a car in the harbour since then.
"But in this situation, obviously, something’s not quite right there."
A 30kmh speed limit sign had been put in place in the area and he urged drivers to heed it.
"I hope people will take notice of that."
The council was unable to respond to questions about the situation yesterday.
