Residents of Islay St, in Glenleith, Shirley and Paul Bellugue are calling on the Dunedin City Council to do something about the gravel road, which they say has been neglected and is littered with potholes.
They said while other roads around them were paved, drivers came to Islay St and hit the gravel at around 60kmh-70kmh.
"They often increase their speed like rally drivers," Mr Bellugue said.
Motorists heading south used it to avoid the motorway section into the city while driving to Dunedin Airport. Others heading north used it to access the motorway.
He said the road had been under-maintained for years.
They had difficulties getting the council to unblock culvert pipes and keep weeds under control.
"When we came here 40 years ago, this was a quiet rural road and all the connecting roads were also gravel," Mrs Bellugue said.
However, the area had since become built up with other roads around them becoming paved.
"If the settlers came and visited from 1870, they would see that Islay St is exactly the same as when they were here," Mrs Bellugue said.
Walking up the road was "quite scary".
"There are no footpaths. If you walk up and someone comes speeding around the corner, there’s nowhere to go."
The council needed to look for solutions, Mr Bellugue said.
"There’s two options, I reckon.
"They could either put a barrier halfway up and make it two cul-de-sacs then leave it gravel."
"They could also put some speed bumps in ... They would have to pave the road to do that."
A council spokesman said it aimed to undertake safety-related work promptly.
However other work needed to be prioritised around the city.
"We have inspected Islay St and agree there are some potholes that needed to be addressed.
"This will be done soon, [however] the road is in an otherwise satisfactory condition," the spokesman said.
He said sealing the road could have undesirable consequences, such as encouraging a greater amount of traffic, or encouraging faster vehicle speeds.
"Road safety engineers will carry out a preliminary assessment to see if there are ways we can discourage use of the road as a ‘short cut’ and discourage speeding."
