A FRIGHTENING near-miss incident recently has left an East Bank Road resident concerned for those having to use the road’s intersection with Thornton Road.

On July 26, Kathe Davey-Emms was pulling out of East Bank Road, turning left, toward Matatā. There was a line of cars backed up across the bridge waiting to turn right, into her road and as she pulled out, a car heading toward Whakatāne passed the waiting cars, crossing the double yellow line in the middle of the road.

“I nearly got taken out,” she said.

She was so shaken by the incident that by the time she reached the Matatā straight, she was almost in tears.

She said the incident highlighted to her the danger of the intersection.

Mrs Davey-Emms made a presentation to Whakatāne District Council’s infrastructure and planning committee yesterday, asking them to prioritise safety improvements to the intersection off the local road, which is used by similar traffic numbers to the nearby State Highway 30.

She has done a survey of people who use the intersection daily and an online survey through Thornton Primary School on East Bank Road.

“I have got feedback from 85 people in our community, and 85 people agreed with me.

“This is a very busy road, we have Thornton Primary School, East Pack and Fonterra down this road,” she said. “It is used by a lot of trucks and campervans, and people tell me it is a very tight turn for them.

“This not an isolated case - I hear the angry honks weekly and know it is extremely dangerous for many of our East Bank Road residents and the families that come to Thornton School.

There are several issues with the intersection that she considers make it dangerous.

It is obscured to eastbound traffic on Thornton Road by the rise of the road as it crosses a bridge.

The oncoming traffic from the west is also obscured to people pulling out of East Bank Road by the rise in the bridge and by roadside barriers.

The intersection’s proximity to the bridge also means there is no safe turning area in the middle of the road.

Mrs Davey-Emms said many people raised in rural areas had been taught to pull over to the left shoulder to allow traffic to pass, before making a right turn into another road or driveway.

There was an incident recently when one car pulled over in this way but another vehicle, also turning right, pulled to the centre of the road, completely blocking the road.

“It causes so much panic, knowing that you’re not seen from behind.”

There is also no shoulder to pull off onto when you come from Whakatāne and turn left into East Bank Road, causing impatience from following drivers.

“Does there need to be a fatality here before anything is done about it?” she said.

Councillors acknowledged the intersection was dangerous.

“I think your point is duly noted by us all and I think we’ve all experienced similar incidents as you have outlined in your report today,” councillor Andrew Iles said.

Councillor Gavin Dennis described it as a “deathtrap”.

Transportation manager Anne-Elise Reynolds said the speed limit on that part of the road could be considered as part of the council’s speed management plan, which was due to be discussed at an upcoming workshop “following the latest round of central Government information”.

The speed limit is currently 100kmh.

She said she would take Mrs Davey-Emms' submission away and provide some options for councillors to consider at the next infrastructure and planning meeting.

Councillor Julie Jukes asked Ms Reynolds whether any changes to the intersection were likely to meet any New Zealand Transport Agency Waka Kotahi funding eligibility criteria.

“Given the following report on our funding cuts, I think the answer is likely to be no, but I’m going to ask anyway.”

“Given the present (political) climate, it’s very unlikely,” Ms Reynolds said.

“There is a small amount of funding yet to be allocated but in terms of prioritisation with projects we’ve already got highly prioritised, we would need to look at where it stacks up.”

Infrastructure general manager Bevan Gray said the council had some challenges around road funding since central Government had cut allocations to councils in this area in the past few weeks.

He asked Mrs Davey-Emms whether cutting the speed limit in the area would help with the issue.

Mrs Davey-Emms said a lot of people who responded to her survey had mentioned the speed.

“If they were going slower, it would give you more time to react. They’re just flying over the bridge.”