“Thanks for bringing this to my attention.

We made the turn into Park Avenue less “sweeping” requiring cars to slow down more to take the corner so I don’t think they’re actually coming around that bend any quicker than before.

To put a roundabout in there would require additional land so we would need to purchase some of the adjoining properties to do this so it’s not something we can do in the short term.

I will, however, refer the design back to the consultants who did the design work for us and see if there are other safety improvements we can consider.

With the change of traffic patterns to the Expressway Interchange volumes at this intersection have increased so it is the increased amount of traffic here which is compounding the problem, not necessarily the design of the road or speed of traffic.

There is additional work planned for the shared path between Park Avenue and the expressway to further improve cycle and pedestrian facilities, and as part of this some power poles and trees will be removed or relocated which will aid visibility for cars.

As you have suggested we will definitely have another look at this intersection and see what safety improvements we can make.

Council is very reluctant to put up mirrors, they are difficult to locate properly, are regularly vandalised, and not as easy to use as people might think. We usually only provide them at road junctions and not for individual residential driveways.

An electronic sign near that intersection is still proposed but it will have to wait for funding in the next financial year’s budget”.

So — where to now in the short term — could we at least get a larger sign from the expressway warning people to slow down round the corner? I can go to the Waikanae Community Board with more of your ideas if you let me know.