A safer summer is on the horizon near Cromwell, with an agreement to stop people parking next to SH6 around the entrance to the popular inflatables water park on Lake Dunstan, says NZ Transport Agency Waka Kotahi (NZTA).
After consulting on a proposal to remove roadside parking near Kiwi Water Park and considering all the views received, NZTA is putting a no-stopping rule into practice.
The aim is to safeguard road users and Lake Dunstan visitors from highway traffic along 1.3 km of SH6 by discouraging people from parking around the entrance to the inflatables park and Lake Dunstan.
The water park and people accessing Lake Dunstan have dedicated, safe parking on LINZ land nearby, so there is no need for on-highway parking, says NZTA’s Team Lead Safety Engineers Roy Johnston.
“This change is essential given SH6 has a 100km/hour upper speed limit so anyone pulling out onto the highway is risking a serious injury crash or worse,” he says.
A total of 20 submissions were received on the Lowburn no-stopping proposal:
A bylaw in accordance with the Land Transport Management Act 1998 is being updated. Signs are going in currently, and an education approach will be taken over the next month or so, prior to being enforced.
Other issues raised in consultation related to speed management and improvements to the intersection of SH6 and Lowburn Valley Road. Speed management will be considered once the Government has updated the Setting of Speed Limits rule. The intersection concerns have been added to NZTA’s issues database to inform development of future work programmes.
Signage prohibiting parking 24/7 along 1300 metres of SH6 south of the Lowburn Bridge will be put in place in coming days to give people plenty of warning of the expectations for the coming summer.
