Board chairwoman Jan Tucker said a steady stream of tourist campervans and other vehicles had been arriving in Aramoana, unaware they had travelled down a dead end.
It was then many learned they would have to turn around and negotiate the narrow, winding harbour-edge road for a second time.
Most had mistakenly thought they were on Blueskin Rd, heading over the hill to Waitati, but had missed the turn-off at Port Chalmers, she said.
"Instead of taking the turn to go up the hill, because there's really no signage that says it, they carry on. Then they get to Aramoana and say, 'How to we get to Waitati?'.
"It's quite a long way. You go down there in a campervan and it's not a very nice road if you don't know it. And you get to the end and you're, 'Well, where did the road go?'."
Residents had come across disoriented tourists and "just feel very sorry for these people", she said.
The board's concerns had been raised with the Dunedin City Council and staff were considering new signs to highlight the correct route, infrastructure services committee chairman Cr Andrew Noone said.
The alternative route to Waitati would also form part of the extended Southern Scenic Route, if it proceeded, which would be signposted, he said.
