Safer stopping places are needed along Highcliff Rd, Otago Peninsula Community Board chairman Paul Pope says.
With an increase in tourist vehicles and campervans, the road was busier but more people were wanting to stop along the way, he said.
‘‘It’s spectacular and everyone wants the view.’’
While there were ‘‘natural pull-over’’ areas looking over Sandfly Bay and Boulder Bay, as well as the often-photographed cabbage tree stop-off along the road, there was a need for one or two more, Mr Pope said.
Community board member and Portobello Senior Constable Lox Kellas said fewer tour buses used the road than in the past. However, the number of visitors had not decreased because more tourists were hiring vehicles to explore the Peninsula.
Snr Const Kellas said with few pull-off areas along the popular road, the risk of ‘‘nose-to-tail’’ crashes was high as some tourists would stop in the middle of the road to take photos.
Mr Pope said it was also when people were stuck travelling at 10kmh behind a car that ‘‘people take risks’’.
The number of Peninsula residents driving to and from Dunedin had also increased the traffic on the road.
‘‘We are a commuter community.’’
While Portobello Rd was also a concern with slow vehicles, a lot of the issues with pull-over areas for that road would be dealt with in the upcoming ‘‘road-widening’’ project, Mr Pope said.
However, the topography of the land on Highcliff Rd and slips on the road meant a lot of thought would have to go into the location of any additional pull-off areas along the ‘‘high road’’.
This was highlighted by a slip which closed Highcliff Rd on Monday between Sandymount Rd and Seaton Rd.
The road had since reopened to a single lane, which would still be closed at night, with a detour around Hoopers Inlet Rd and Allans Beach Rd.
