A board meeting yesterday discussed how best to tackle the issue of people driving into flooded areas or being stuck behind barriers.
Board member John Herbert said he was concerned drivers did not fully understand what signs placed ahead of blocked-off zones meant during flooding events.
On Thursday last week, in the Kelso and Tapanui area, drivers who had gone the wrong way blamed unclear signage for their mistake, he said.
"Some of them said they thought the ‘road closed ahead’ signs referred to a side road."
He said the mistakes were not entirely the drivers’ fault.
"These people drive past the signs ... but in their defence, they’re from out of town and its almost impossible to figure out what territory you’re sitting in, what council is operating it.
"They go on the NZTA [NZ Transport Agency] website and see that the highways are all closed. They can’t see on there all the roads that are closed. If there was some way to integrate that information with their [NZTA] system it would be really good."
He proposed new signs with arrows to indicate where exactly the no-go zones were.
"And wherever we put the barriers we need to have some serious forewarning, and perhaps a physical bit of tape," Mr Herbert said.
Board member Linda Roulston was concerned farm access could be restricted by extended no-go zones.
"My worry is if someone has got to get to their rural property and their stock which is a priority, that’s something that needs to be taken into account."
