The memorial was put in place by the family and friends of Devon Anderson (19), of Mosgiel, after she was killed in a crash, on the north-bound side of the motorway near Fairfield, on June 22, 2003.
Motorists complained of the distraction in 2004 and Milton motorist Ross Brownlie, who passes the memorial almost every morning, told the Otago Daily Times in a letter this week it continued to be a distraction for drivers.
"I often notice cars wandering off line as the drivers turn to look at the display."
He had also seen a car parked on the motorway shoulder while work was done on the memorial.
"While I acknowledge the grief the family must feel for their loss, I must point out they have a responsibility to see that their grief does not become the cause of another fatality," he said.
He considered a cemetery "the appropriate place" for a display.
Transport agency operations manager for Otago and Southland Murray Clarke said yesterday the organisation had tried to have the memorial removed.
"What we are looking at doing is planting some shrubs and things, both sides of it and in front of it, so people will not get distracted. It'll be in among shrubs.
"Gradually, they will screen it off and no-one will know it's there."
Devon's mother, Bronwyn Anderson, who visits the site where her daughter died every week, said yesterday she had no problem with the shrubs.
The memorial was "not for show" for passing motorists.
"It's a remembrance for us. It is a personal thing. It is where she died.
"And it's just where I like to go to remember her."
She did not consider the memorial, of real and artificial flowers, created a hazard and police she had spoken to considered it was a "good reminder" of the need for care on the roads.
New Zealand Police Southern District road policing manager Inspector Andrew Burns said from his perspective the memorial was "like a cross" on the side of the road.
"It's a reminder to people of the dangers of where they are and the outcome of crashes."
He said the police did not have a policy on roadside memorials.
"I can't see how that would be much worse [than] a lot of other things that appear on the side of the road at different times."
Mrs Anderson said her daughter had been on the way to the University of Otago library to study for exams.
Her car hit the bank on the side of the motorway and she was thrown from the car.
The cause of the crash was uncertain but a dog had been seen roaming in the area.
When asked how long the memorial to her only child would stay in place, Mrs Anderson said, with a laugh: "until I die".
