Two Featherston businesses have been forced to let staff go after road safety improvements caused customers numbers to drop.
The business owners said they remained in the dark as to whether a resolution was coming, when it would happen, and who would pay for it.
At the start of this year, a traffic island was installed outside The Baker and Lang’s Pharmacy on Featherston’s main street by the rail crossing.
KiwiRail said the traffic island removed the risk of “right turning cars from stacking across the rail” but it also blocked southbound cars from turning into the parking area for the businesses.
As a result, the bakery has seen a 60% decline in income, and the pharmacy has declined by 30%.
Pharmacy owner Michael Stewart said there had been very little communication from KiwiRail over the past several months.
“We feel like we haven’t been listened to and they don’t care,” he said.
KiwiRail’s Wellington Metro Upgrade Programme Director Andy Lyon said it was a “tricky situation and unfortunately there’s no easy fix”.
No reported incidents at the rail crossing
He said KiwiRail was not aware of any incidents at the rail crossing but the risk of someone being hurt was “too great to ignore”.
“The traffic island was installed to funnel northbound traffic through the barrier arms, to prevent people driving around them when trains are approaching,” he said.
“This is a significant safety issue at our level crossings, with more than 75% of near misses last year occurring at crossings with barrier arms.
“The island also prevents south-bound cars from sitting over the railway line while waiting to turn right into the car park.”
In an email exchange with South Wairarapa Deputy Mayor Melissa Sadler-Futter last month, Lyon said there were “no realistic options to remove or modify the traffic island”.
He suggested the installation of temporary roundabouts to allow people to move more easily around the main street, and a property agreement to allow vehicles to access the bakery car park from the lane between the Pharmacy and takeaway shop.
However, Sadler-Futter said KiwiRail had told stakeholders at a meeting in May that it had “no budget to resolve this situation — a situation created entirely by itself”.
Sadler-Futter said she was concerned that any cost would be placed squarely on South Wairarapa ratepayers, despite them not causing the situation.
“This is completely unacceptable in my opinion.”
Sadler-Futter said KiwiRail had “implemented these changes without consultation or prior warning in the name of safety” and had “given no thought to the impact the improvements would have on the financial stability or mental health of the business owners that have been impacted”.
She also said both businesses impacted have “had to let go of staff” as a result of reduced patronage.
In a statement, Lyon said KiwiRail had been working with the council and NZTA on options to resolve the issue which included short-stay parking spaces on the southbound side of Fitzherbert St with zebra crossings.
Lyon said KiwiRail was “extremely mindful” of the impact the traffic island was having in the community.
“We’ve met local business owners. We’ve heard their concerns first hand and have been working alongside council and NZTA to try to find a solution.”
He said KiwiRail’s role was to provide a safe and resilient rail network.
“We will continue working alongside NZTA — the agency responsible for state highway alterations — and council — who manage local roading — to find a solution, and are open to supporting what’s best for the community.”
Local Democracy Reporting is local-body journalism co-funded by RNZ and NZ On Air.
