Purakanui Rd, Purakanui School Rd and Purakanui Station Rd are expected to all sport an extra u, and two macrons, before long.
A call from the Ngai Tahu Maori Law Centre and Purakaunui Block Inc for the roads to have their spelling corrected to match official spelling agreed by the New Zealand Geographic Board was also agreed to by the Dunedin City Council infrastructure services committee this month.
In Dunedin, it should resolve a conflict at Purakaunui where two signs - both placed on the same post by council staff - display different spellings and use of macrons for the same word.
Murdering Beach Rd is also to be renamed Whareakeake Rd.
A public notice calling for submissions was published on the weekend. Council information support officer Bruce Hall said this week that was one of the final stages of the process.
He said the local community board and land owners on each of the roads had been consulted and the majority were in favour of the changes.
The submissions in response to the public notices would go back to the infrastructure services committee on April 23 for consideration, though Mr Hall said he did not expect opposition.
If the committee agreed to finally proceed with the change as expected, a full council meeting on May 14 would be the final tick of approval, and staff would head out to change the signs not long after that.
Purakaunui resident Nicola Taylor said it was great to think the change was finally about to happen.
Mrs Taylor, who has been campaigning for the change, said she agreed with Mr Hall's suggestion residents in the area supported it.
She has said Rakau is the Maori word for stick, and pu-rakau-nui means big pile of wood or sticks.
In early European documents such as maps, surveyors wrote Purakaunui with three "u"s, but others spelt it without the second "u", and over the years Purakanui became the dominant spelling.
