AA North Otago District Council

Working on behalf of AA Members

Coastal Road Strategy

There is a well recognised problem with erosion affecting the coast road between Oamaru and Waianakarua. One section is already closed and due to a lack of external funding the Waitaki District Council is having to consider its options on how to best manage the situation in the future.

The main options are:

1. Do nothing and once the road becomes unusable provide access to the coast and affected properties through Mcleans road and Bowally Road. These roads will be upgraded to do this.
2. Target erosion repairs and protection on the affected areas to retain the road for the foreseeable future

The road provides access to the township of Kakanui from the north and the south and also provides the best access to a number of properties as well as being a popular tourist route and an alternative if State Highway One is closed

A Committee of residents and stakeholders has been formed recently to look at cost effective options to repair and future proof the road. The North Otago AA Council has made submissions to the Waitaki District Council in the past and we now believe that we are at a crossroads where if nothing is done the cost to repair the erosion will become too much and the road will be lost.

We believe the road should be kept open if at all possible and the AA, both locally and nationally will work with all parties to try and achieve this

SH1 North Oamaru Study

The North Otago AA Council recognises the need to improve traffic interaction and flow in the north end of Oamaru, especially where Thames Highway intersects with Frome Street and Caledonian Road.

While the number of traffic movement over a 24 hour period is not high on a national scale, most of the movements occur over a short period involving a combination of high traffic flows, cyclists and pedestrians.

As well as being State Highway One, this is the main road for journeys within Oamaru and passes through the North End Shopping Centre. The road layout is a single lane in each direction with parking on both sides, Two T intersections and pedestrian crossings.

With limited options available due to space constraints, the North Otago AA Council aims to be involved with any proposed improvements to help achieve the best outcome.

Recently it has been announced that there will be traffic lights installed on the pedestrian crossing at the north end shops. We believe this will help pedestrian safety but will increase the potential for nose to tail accidents which is already a problem in the area. Also it does nothing to help the congestion in the Frome St, Caledonian Road Area.

We favour an option where the public toilets on Roberts Park are moved and Frome St is brought across to line up with Caledonian Road. Then Traffic Lights could be installed giving pedestrians the option to cross to the north or south of the intersection and Frome Street and Caledonian Road would have dedicated access to Thames Highway

Kakaho Bridge Realignment

The North Otago AA Council is aware that there is a long term proposal to realign State Highway One from the Kakaho Bridge to Hampden. This is not proceeding at present due to funding constraints.

We are very concerned about the alignment of the approaches to the Kakaho Bridge and the uneven seal on the bridge itself. This bridge is located on a curve at the northern end of this proposed realignment and we have succeeded in getting Transit New Zealand to install illuminated signs indicating the need to slow down when approaching the bridge from either direction.

We will continue to lobby for improvements to the area around this bridge.

District Councillors

The District Councillors are:

• Martin McFelin (Chairman, National Councillor)
• Graeme Newton (Vice Chairman)
• Doug Algie 
• Leigh Fellows
• Peter Senior
• Mark Young
• Andrew Steel
• Kelvin Hay
• Robyn Hyde
• Sue Gardner

Contacts for AA Members

District Manager: Karen Weir, Oamaru AA Centre