Trucks not welcome

Drivers of heavy trucks will be asked to stop using Muritai St in Tahunanui, after residents have complained of noise and vibrations caused by heavy vehicles.

City councillors have agreed to review the request after four months, and if it is not proving effective, then the council will direct that no heavy commercial vehicles can use Muritai St between 10pm and 6am.

Muritai St links the Pascoe St industrial area with the city.

Resident Annie Boersma, who organised a petition asking the council to address the problem, said big trucks had taken to using the street as a shortcut since they were diverted from using the main highway after a storm last year.

The petition which attracted 111 signatures was also supported by the Tahunanui Kindergarten and Tahunanui Primary School.

Ms Boersma said it was particularly bad at night, and the heavy traffic was affecting the community's wellbeing.

She also believed that vibrations from the heavy trucks had caused cracks in her house. However, she told councillors she had not had a building expert assess the house.

The council's senior engineering officer Les Denia said the road in front of Ms Boersma's house had been inspected and was sound.

He had also inspected the inside of the house, and while it had cracks, he struggled to see any evidence of structural failure.

Mr Denia said that while he was not a structural engineer, the problem appeared more like expansion cracks seen in joinery.

Nelson MP Nick Smith had written to the council on Ms Boersma's behalf, asking if the problem could be sorted before 2014-15 when improvements in the area were planned.

The Tahunanui structure plan, adopted in 2004 to guide future development of the suburb, included enhancements for Muritai St. An upgrade of the Tahunanui Dr and Parkers Rd intersection is also planned to cope with the expected increase in traffic, which will be diverted from Muritai St.

Ms Boersma told councillors on Thursday that she would prefer an option presented by staff that the council ban heavy traffic from the street, but the council said such a move could be regarded by trucking companies as being "heavy-handed", and may require police enforcement.

It would also force all heavy traffic to use Tahunanui Dr, which would increase congestion at the Parkers Rd intersection.

Nelson Mayor Kerry Marshall was sympathetic to Ms Boersma's plight, but said it was sometimes easier for heavy vehicles to access the state highway from Muritai St, particularly during peak traffic times.

Road Transport Association area manager Grant Turner said all its members had been notified to try to avoid using Muritai St.

- © Fairfax NZ News