When the council held an extraordinary meeting at the Moeraki marae about 60 people issued a clear message they wanted something done with Haven St.
It has been closed for about 18 months by land subsiding over a distance of
350m to 400m. Since the town was established, the unstable land has made it expensive to keep the road open.
Traffic now takes a detour on Tenby St.
The council has a plan, with an estimated cost of about $100,000, to re-establish a single-lane shingle road across the unstable area.
Some residents felt that did not go far enough. They wanted other options and to be consulted before final decisions were made.
Waitaki Mayor Gary Kircher tried to defuse the local anger.
''As much as you, we want to get a solution,'' he told the residents.
One of the difficulties was roading work on the Haven St slip would not get a 55% subsidy from the New Zealand Transport Agency, so the council had to find the full $100,000.
It proposed to do that with $50,000 from all district ratepayers and $50,000 from the Moeraki community, either in donations, rates or kind.
It had received offers of machinery from Moeraki people, including long-time resident Bill Pile, to do the work.
Mr Pile repeated that offer, and said three to four people had offered similar machinery.
He had also negotiated a free supply of shingle for the work. He emphasised the work would have to be overseen by an engineer on site and water causing instability had to be stopped.
Stan Lusby, whose house overlooks the closed portion of Haven St, said
''lots of unknowns'' could affect the cost. He had proposed the council provide $25,000 for him to prepare a survey and plan with support from the Canterbury University's geology department using engineering students and staff.
Restaurateur Fleur Sullivan said ''stressed, bewildered customers'' were arriving at her restaurant, Fleur's Place, after
finding their way through detours and it was ''a big ask'' to then expect customers to relax and enjoy their food.
''The [detour] road is so dangerous, I don't know how there has been no serious accident. It's really dangerous,'' she said. Doug Stalker agreed,
said Moeraki was ''close to a fatality'' because there was a lot of traffic on narrow roads.
''It's a tourist town. People like to walk around the streets, but it's not safe.I believe there will be a fatality in a short time,'' he said. Moeraki Holiday Park co-owner Kristina Mitchell said the road closure had a large impact on the business.
People had arrived in camper vans ''absolutely shaking and sweating'' because of the roads.
Some, following their GPS, found the road closed, turned around and left.
She was critical of the warning and detour signs and presented examples she had prepared to the council.
Jan Wheeler suggested lowering the speed limit to 30kmh from the railway line at State Highway 1, showing people they needed to take care.
Nola Tipa, of Te Runanga o Moeraki, said the runanga supported the community's views on the road.
The runanga was looking at opportunities in Moeraki to attract its young people back but, to do that, it needed the road.
As a treaty partner with the council, the runanga expected something to be done, she said.
Other issues raised included personal experience with springs and instability on properties, visitors losing their way in the town, utilising local knowledge and expertise in any solution, spending money to improve the detour and the cost of any solution on ratepayers.
Mr Kircher assured people the council was keen to find the right solution by working with the community.
