17/01/2006

Oto speed trap helps govt coffers

The number of speedsters snapped by speed cameras on Otorohanga's Te Kanawa St was the second highest of any other stretch of road in the Waikato last year.
In the past 12 months, mobile speed cameras positioned on Te Kanawa St have recorded 3419 photographs, resulting in 1732 tickets.
Catching speeding traffic entering and exiting the town on SH31, these findings are particularly worrying considering the street is used by children walking to and from nearby Otorohanga South School.
Mayor Dale Williams said the stretch of road in question has been an ongoing concern for council.
"I am disappointed that Te Kanawa St is the second busiest speed camera area in the Waikato.
"It does not surprise me however, as the approach over the bridge and dropping down into the residential area has been a concern of residents and council for a long time."
Mr Williams said recent improvements made to pedestrian crossings along Te Kanawa St - such as the installation of kerb extensions - has helped to slow traffic however he believes more should be done.
"SH31 is now a very highly used road for trucks, skiers and tourists from Auckland south and the design of the approach into Te Kanawa St lends itself for vehicles to carry excessive speed into the built up area."
"Our staff regularly discuss with Land Transport New Zealand (LTNZ)  what cart be done to improve Te Kanawa St, as it is a state highway and LTNZ are responsible for traffic improvements to the area."
Mr Williams also questioned whether money raised through speed camera fines should be put towards making the necessary improvements.
"Wouldn't it be great if the revenue being collected from the speed camera could be put towards some meaningful improvements to help reduce the speeds?
I would have thought that just issuing infringement notices to motorists is not assisting in slowing speeds in that area," he said.
The speed camera statistics were released by National MP Simon Power last week among concerns speed cameras are being used for revenue-gathering rather than as a way to encourage drivers to slow down.
"National supports the use of cameras as part of the campaign to improve road safety, but we know New Zealanders will only tolerate the use of cameras if safety is the target - as opposed to revenue gathering," said Mr Power.
"Labour's reputation when it comes to ticketing has been on quantity not quality. We need to concentrate on quality by targeting the right areas if we are to bring the road toll down.
"Speed cameras should be in accident black spots in order to encourage sensible driving practises in dangerous areas," he said.
There are 55 camera sites in the Waikato, with three mobile cameras and one fixed camera in rotation.
The busiest speed camera in the Waikato was a fixed camera on SH1 in Cambridge, which snapped 8519 photographs and issued 5727 tickets.
This site was the fifth busiest in the country.
The top national site, where 13,968 photographs were taken and 8786 tickets issued, was Mt Wellington Highway.

PROS AND CONS FOR PIPED SEWER IN KAWHIA

During two recent public meetings in Kawhia Otorohanga District Council highlighted reasons for and against the installation of a piped sewer system in Kawhia.

PROS

A piped sewer system is easier to monitor than many on-site systems, with many problems with on-site systems often going unnoticed.

The Ministry of Health is strongly in favour of piped sewer systems in small communities with any reduction in wastewater treatment and disposal activities on residential sites considered beneficial.

A community sewer system would relieve individual property owners of future compliance needs in respect of wastewater.

CONS

Installation of a wastewater system would require work on both counil and private property, causing disruption.

Care must betaken that development of the community does not lead to the sewer system capacity being exceeded - a problem with the community sewer system could have a greater adverse effect than failure of a few on-site systems.

There could be impediments such as difficulty finding suitable land for effluent disposal, difficulty with obtaining resource consents, higher than expected construction costs and little or no subsidy being granted.

Kawhia: ODC wants support for new sewer

Otorohanga District Council is carrying out public consultation on the possibility of a piped wastewater system in Kawhia.
Written information and a preliminary questionnaire have already been distributed to Kawhia ratepayers, and two public meetings - on Wednesday, January 4 and Saturday, January 14 - have been held.
These steps come after Kawhia Community Board agreed in November that consultation was necessary before going ahead with the second stage of applying for the Ministry of Health's Sanitary Works Subsidy Scheme (SWSS).
SWSS could see council receive a 90 per cent subsidy in order to establish anew wastewater system in the town.
Council are already working on the first stage of the application process, which identifies whether they are likely to qualify for funding.
While this stage costs $5000, the cost of the second stage is expected to be about $20,000 or more - the reason council wants to gauge public support before going ahead.
If there is a high level of support for the new system from ratepayers in the preliminary questionnaire, council will collate more information on the piped sewer scheme and hold a formal referendum.
If the level of support is low, they will not pursue the matter.
At November's community board meeting, chief executive David Hall commented on the possibility that piped sewer systems may become compulsory in the future.
He said it was important to consider the system seriously while a subsidy was available.
"You can imagine what people would say in 10 years time if the government says you have to have this wastewater system and there is no subsidy available."
It is not the first time council has raised the possibility; of installing a piped wastewater system in Kawhia; with the issue being discussed many times during the past 10 years.
Anyone wanting more information on the piped sewer system issue should contact the council.