A group of Stoke residents whose properties back on to Whakatu Drive say the noise coming from the highway is getting too much to bear and they want the owners of the road to resurface it.
They say New Zealand Transport Agency promised the motorway would be sealed with “noise limiting seal” but the latest resurface is the worst it’s ever been because the chip on the road is so coarse.
Nelson Grey Power committee member Bob Hancock says the organisation is looking to lobby on the residents’ behalf.
“When the bypass was built, residents near to it, on Rosebank Terrace, were anxious about the amount of noise that would come with it. They’ve said they were given assurances that the type of surface to be used was not going to be a noisy coarse chip. It wasn’t and of course the thing was built, time went by and it’s since been resurfaced with even coarser chip seal.”
Bob says it’s time the road was sealed in asphalt in line with what is used on other highways around the country.
“We do know the cost is considerably more where asphalt is concerned but the noise is too much and people are very annoyed. The aim is that the next time it is resealed, it is done in asphalt.”
But that could be a long time coming, given that the life span of the current chip seal is ten years. That is a worst case scenario for local resident Brian Fairbairn who has lived on Rosebank Terrace for the past eight years. He says the noise level has become unbearable since the last reseal and he’s well and truly fed up with the situation.
“It’s an absolute nightmare.”
His home backs onto the highway and is separated by a few metres of grass bank and a fence.
“They are going to have to realise that there is a problem, and they are going to have to accept it and do something about it. It is hindering our lives.”
Mark Owen, acting highway manager for the Nelson Tasman area for NZTA, says the agency is open to any feedback from local residents on noise issues.
“We can appreciate that noise is a problem with these people and we want to work with them where we can. We want to make sure that we are compliant with our conditions, and after that it is whatever we can do to work with the community to mitigate some noise.”
Although, he says some solutions would be costly and still might not solve the problem because they are living next to a highway.
“We are trying to be a lot more customer focussed. It’s a highway, it’s a transport link for people in that area, but it also goes through a community.”
