Damage to road safety signs on a Far North road could cost up to $20,000 to repair, but the council needs witnesses to the destruction before it can prosecute anybody to recover the costs.

Overnight last Friday/Saturday, more than 20 road safety signs along the Kaitaia-Awaroa Rd were damaged or destroyed. They included speed limit signs, yellow warning signs, such as corner chevron signs, and yellow signs telling motorists to slow down, warning of approaching corners or of hazards. As well, many branches were broken from trees and shrubbery along the roadside.

Locals spoken to on the road said they suspected the damage could have been caused by a house being transported along the road, but Far North District Council (FNDC) said it would need evidence, including witnesses, before it could take action against anybody for the damage.

Calvin Thomas, Northland Transport Alliance (NTA) general manager, said the intentional damage of the district’s road signs is an ongoing and significant concern for NTA and FNDC.

“These signs are a vital road safety tool, especially for drivers unfamiliar with our roads, and play an important role in preventing road crashes and saving lives,” Thomas said.

The council could be sure if the damage was caused by a house being moved and would need evidence or witnesses to seek compensation from the movers. Most houses are transported at night it needed people to report any damage to the council, with details of where and when, and if possible, details of who caused the damage.

“Where we can conclusively identify those responsible for damaging signs, we will look at prosecutions. However, the damage to signs most often occurs along rural or remote roads at night. This means there are rarely witnesses who can identify those responsible and who can testify to that in court,” Thomas said.

“Regarding house moving companies, the council supports efforts to tackle the housing crisis in our district. We want to do all we can to facilitate this and urge homeowners and house moving companies to work with us to ensure the transport routes being used are suitable for size of loads being transported considering both road width and the presence of overhead power and phone lines.”

He said new road signs on Kaitaia-Awaroa Rd (Ahipara-Mangamuka Herekino Harbour routes) are part of NTA’s Road Corridor Safety Treatments project that started in November 2022. This identified the Kaitaia-Awaroa Ahipara-Mangamuka route as a high-risk corridor, based on Waka Kotahi’s Safe Network Programme Pipeline Tool.

To improve safety, the project has added speed (warning) signs and chevrons to corners, improved road markings and installed additional guardrails. This project is expected to continue through to mid-July 2023.

“Intentional or unintentional damage to these signs undoes the important work being undertaken to make this route safer for all drivers. NTA estimates the cost to ratepayers of repairing damaged signs along this route will be around $20,000. Completing this may take two or more months as the signs need to be manufactured and this has been impacted by supply chain delays,’’ Thomas said.

“While damage to signs by heavy vehicles is a problem, vandalism is the biggest challenge. Unfortunately, this is not a new problem. For example, from around July 2020 through to March 2021, new speed limit and other road safety signs were targeted by vandals along several roads in the Bay of Islands Ward. Vandalised signs included Stop, Giveway, curve warnings and chevrons, street names, One Way Bridge warnings and more. In some instances, the signs were completely removed. We estimate this cost ratepayers close to $40,000.”

Mike Dinsdale is news director and senior journalist who covers general news for the Advocate. He has worked in Northland for almost 34 years and loves the region.