Motorists could soon be forbidden from stopping alongside SH6, near the Kiwi Water Park.

NZ Transport Agency Waka Kotahi (NZTA) has put a proposal together, calling for both sides of SH6 to be a ‘no stopping’ zone around the entrance to the water park at Lowburn, near Cromwell.

The proposal includes no stopping signs and covers a 1.3km stretch of the highway.

Instead, people would be encouraged to use the parking available on Land Information New Zealand land nearby.

NZTA has confirmed the proposal was in response to a number of crashes in the area, so it was doing all it could to make it safer.

“This is essential given SH6 has a 100km/h upper speed limit so anyone pulling onto the highway is risking a serious injury crash, or worse,” NZTA team lead safety engineers Roy Johnston said.

“Once we have received submissions and agreed on the best way forward, a bylaw could be set in accordance with the Land Transport Management Act 1998.”

The area runs for 1.3km. IMAGE: Supplied

Kiwi Water Park owner Emily Rutherford supports the proposal.

She said the stretch of SH6 that would be affected sees a lot of traffic, only some of which is from Kiwi Water Park customers.

However, she said there had been no problems with people parking on the roadside this season, after NZTA erected a fence that extends from before the Kiwi Water Park site to the Lowburn recreational reserve.

She said the parking area for the Lowburn Reserve had ample space.

“The parking area for the Lowburn Reserve can take more vehicles than we have ever seen parked there. This is used by Freedom Campers, boaties, locals and visitors, in addition to our customers,” she said.

“We have signs asking people to park in the reserve car park, but have no authority to prevent people from using or parking beside the vehicle track that goes from near the boating ramp to McNulty Inlet.”

A turning bay was added in late 2022.

“The turning bay has made it much safer for people to pull off the road at Lowburn Reserve and we welcomed it, but always felt it was needed despite our location using the same carpark as other users of the reserve,” Emily said.  

“Having to turn right, across a busy highway and against oncoming traffic, was always a hazard in a heavily used location.”

Anyone wanting to make a submission to NZTA’s no-stopping proposal can email [email protected]

Alternatively, it can be posted to: The Senior Safety Engineer, NZTA, PO Box 5245, Dunedin 9058.

The deadline for input is Wednesday, April 3, 2024.