Closing the Moa Flat road for the Targa South Island Rally may give a message to young drivers it is fine to race on rural back roads, with dire consequences, opponents say.
Robert and Jackie Aitchison, of Moa Flat Rd, and Robert Aitchison, of Dalmuir Rd, say the use of the steep, winding, uneven-surfaced road ''is inappropriate and risky as it has absolutely no crash barriers, with sheer drops on many corners''.
The road borders their farm.
''Over the past 70 years, the family has dealt with many serious accidents on Moa Flat Rd, including a fatality.
''We have retrieved many damaged vehicles and repaired our roadside fence line many, many times, to keep it stockproof and safe for road users,'' they said in an objection to the Central Otago District Council.
If the road was used by rally drivers, it might convey a message it was all right to race on rural back roads and encourage young, inexperienced drivers, who aspired to be ''rally drivers'' to use the road later, unsupervised, for racing, ''with possible dire consequences'', the Aitchisons said.
Part of the road is within the Central Otago district and part in the Clutha district. It has been proposed the road be closed from 10.15am-6pm on Friday, October 31, so it can be used as part of the route for the first Targa rally in the South Island. The CODC advertised the road closure and received one objection, from the Aitchisons.
The matter will be considered at the council meeting on Wednesday . October was one of the busiest times of the year on the farm and the road was an important link road for them, the Aitchisons said. Any closure would impede access and interrupt their farming operation.
The traffic noise would disturb ewes lambing, mismother lambs and frighten stock mobbed up for tailing, the Aitchisons said.
In response to the objection, Targa New Zealand operations manager Gary Upson proposed to move the start and finish of the road closure further south, so the Aitchisons' properties were outside the road closure area.
Those properties would have access via State Highway 90 or State Highway 8, Mr Upson said in a letter to the council. Although the most direct route between the properties - Moa Flat Rd - would be closed, there was alternative access to each of those properties during the road closure.
''In relation to the concerns raised regarding the noise generated by the vehicles, we wish to clarify that all competitor and participant vehicles comply with current WOF regulations and are road registered. These vehicles are not those associated with boy racers,'' Mr Upson said. About 180-200 vehicles - all competitors - would travel on the road.
Council roading services officer Mick Sparrow said he had contacted Mrs Aitchison about Targa's response but she wanted the objection to stand.
Although the location had been changed so it did not affect access to their properties, there was a ''philosophical difference regarding the appropriateness of rally events on roads that cannot be mitigated'', he was told. Mr Sparrow has recommended the council agree to the rally taking place, with the revised road closure point.
He said the Clutha District Council had also received an objection to the closure of the part of Moa Flat Rd within that district.
Clutha Mayor Bryan Cadogan said yesterday the matter had yet to be considered by the full council.
The Queenstown Lakes District Council's property subcommittee will make a decision on August 28 whether the Queenstown-Glenorchy Rd should be closed for the rally on November 1, after receiving an objection.
The Otago Peninsula Community Board voted on Thursday to back the rally, despite some resident opposition to the closure of Highcliff Rd on October 30. That road closure, and two others which have not drawn any objections, will be considered by the Dunedin City Council today.
