Vehicles have been getting stuck on a traffic island at the entrance to the new Kāmoanahaehae Riverside Park carpark in downtown Alexandra.

Central Otago District Council staff have been instructed by the Vincent Community Board to remove the central splitter island, which was put in place to stop trucks and buses from accessing the area.

Cr Martin McPherson said it was an idea “that quite frankly doesn’t work”, noting that many regular users of the carpark had got stuck on it and damaged their vehicles.

He told the meeting he’d like “the damn thing” to go.

The central splitter island was installed to stop 8.0m medium rigid trucks or larger to have access to the carpark. 

Truck restriction signs have also been installed on the centre island, and council said it was proving effective in deterring trucks from entering the car park area.

But Martin said even the sign had been bowled over by motorists trying to negotiate the tight entrance.

“Get the jackhammer out and get rid of the thing.”

The development of the Kāmoanahaehae Riverside Park project necessitated the relocation and reconstruction of the entrance to the Warehouse carpark. 

Prior to the development, the carpark had been accessed by delivery trucks of various sizes, but it was expected that when the project was complete, they would no longer use that space to turn around.

Mayor Tamah Alley questioned whether they had overestimated people’s ability to drive.

“That corner is meant to be capable of carrying everything but a bus,” she said.

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