A St Kilda resident who had a ute crash through his hedge yesterday says the change to give-way rules to accommodate cyclists was to blame for the accident.
Police and ambulance crews were called about 3.15pm after a car and a ute collided at the intersection of Market and Tedder Sts.
The ute ploughed through the hedge of Graham Andrews' house in Tedder St.
Mr Andrews said he was talking to a friend when he heard a "boom''.
He believed the crash was an inevitable outcome of changes the Dunedin City Council made to the intersection as part of the roll-out of the botched South Dunedin cycle network.
Before the change, the busier Market St had right of way over Tedder St, and despite the new rules being in force for more than a year people were still driving straight through.
Residents' repeated calls for the council to change the intersection back to the way it was had fallen on deaf ears, but yesterday's accident showed there would be serious consequences it continued to ignore their concerns, Mr Andrews said.
"Someone is going to get killed one day.''
He could see the intersection from his bedroom window and estimated that every 20 minutes three or four cars drove straight through Market St without slowing down to give way.
It was not unusual to hear the screeching of brakes as people narrowly missed colliding with other vehicles.
The problem was compounded by recent roadworks, which had left the give-way markings on the road faded.
Mr Andrews said the new rules made no sense as Market St was a busy link connecting Queens Dr and Prince Albert Rd while Tedder St was much quieter.
A council spokesman said in a statement the council was always conscious of issues regarding the health and safety of Dunedin residents and concerned to hear about the accident.
"We only have second-hand information about this incident at this time, but we will be evaluating the information we receive about it so we can take the best course of action for the safety of our residents and road users.''
A St John spokesman said a female patient was treated at the scene, but did not need to be transported to hospital.
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Comments
Not really. Accidents are not about the road. They are about driving to conditions.
How many more accidents,how many more bodies are to be maimed/killed before this stupid folly of cycling is curbed? --- Cycling? The most dangerous activity on our roads. The sooner this dangerous suicide sport called cycling is banned on public roads the better!
whether the changes are good or not the intersection is clearly signposted and the fault lies with the people ignoring them and not obeying the road rules
The design of this intersection is idiotic beyond belief.
Across the world major roads have right of way of tiny narrow side streets, except this one. It goes against the intuition of every driver on the road.