His comments come as a NZ Transport Agency multimillion-dollar plan was revealed for road safety improvements on State Highway 1, between Palmerston and Hampden.
The project, funded by NZTA through the Safe Network Programme, part of the National Land Transport Fund, includes widening the road centre line, adding roadside barriers at high-risk locations and upgrading signs and general road markings.
The plan was yesterday welcomed by a local community board, which said the community had long-standing concerns about the road, and for family members of those who had lost their lives there.
Ruby Marris (5) was killed in a head-on crash, after a tourist crossed the centre line, on February 21, 2015, near Moeraki.
Her father, Tristan Marris, said it had been six years since Ruby died and, in that time, he felt little had changed on the road "apart from a few Band-Aids".
A 70km active speed sign near Moeraki, installed in 2017 to slow people down around the Moeraki Boulders Rd intersection, had been temperamental, he said.
"Half the time I go through that area, that sign is not even on.
"It is just not clear — it still looks like a 100kmh zone."
He hoped to see "brows" in the road flattened out, which has been flagged as an area for improvement work in the proposed plan.
"You go over a brow, but you can’t do anything if someone is on the wrong side of the road. You are stuck — it’s too late."
Mr Marris was pleased road marking would be improved, pointing out that white staggered lines were still on the road at sections where it was not safe to pass and that some arrows were incomplete or not clear.
That would be particularly confusing for tourists who might not be used to the roads, as it could imply that it was safe to pass, he said.
Mr Marris felt that should have been fixed a long time ago.
He called the road structure "ancient".
"They have decided to upgrade the rest of the road, after so many dead.
"If you put it in that context ... it takes too long."
While it was too late for some, he said that more funding for improving roads would "save lives".
Carly Nesbit, who had a brother die on the same stretch of highway, said her family wrote to the ministry after his crash, urging it to do something about the dangerous stretch of road.
Tane Roderick died when a van driven by a tourist turned into his path, at the turnoff to Moeraki, on February 6, 2020.
His family felt it was "great" that something was being done to improve safety on the road, she said.
Waitaki Mayor Gary Kircher said he did not know exactly what the changes would be, but installing further safety measures at the turnoff to Moeraki Village would be "very welcomed".
He had heard anecdotally of many near misses at the turnoff.
Waihemo Community Board chairwoman Heather McGregor agreed.
The stretch of road had been a concern to the community "for quite some time".
A document, dated last October, said implementation of the project was planned for 2021 and 2022 and was estimated to cost $30.9million.
An NZTA spokeswoman yesterday said the cost of the project was likely now closer to $20.9 million.
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"The father of a child who died on a dangerous stretch of highway in North Otago says improvements to the road will safe lives — but safety moves have taken "too long" the "fixes" haven't been applied yet, there is still to be lots of umming and ahhhing to do by those involved.
"The father of a child who died on a dangerous stretch of highway in North Otago says improvements to the road will safe lives — but safety moves have taken "too long" they haven't applied any "fixes" yet, they still have to umm and ahh about it before they do anything............