The NZ Transport Agency (NZTA) is keen to work with the Te Aroha Business Association, the Matamata-Piako District Council and the wider community to find safe alternatives for promotional signage for the town.
The Business Association applied earlier this year for consent from the NZTA to install a sign promoting the town as a tourist destination next to the Tatuanui roundabout, at the intersection of state highways 27 and 26.
The NZTA’s highway network operations manager, Karen Boyt, says while the agency commends the Business Association’s efforts to promote the town, the proposal put forward earlier this year for additional signage at this intersection could not be supported for safety reasons.
Ms Boyt says instead, the NZTA has suggested to the Te Aroha Business Association that options should be explored for this type of signage to be placed away from the intersection. “We are happy to work with the Te Aroha Business Association and the Matamata-Piako District Council to achieve this. We have also invited the Te Aroha Business Association to meet further with us to start this process.”
“Promotional signs carry more information than simple ‘location and distance’ signs, which makes placing them at a busy intersection a potential distraction for motorists, increasing crash risk. We need to ensure that drivers’ minds are focussed on negotiating the roundabout safely – not on trying to process extra destination information to make split-second decisions about changing their travel plans while travelling through the intersection. Safety is the key issue here and it remains front and centre of any decision the NZTA makes on the installation of any type of signage.”
