[ad_1]
Things
The Kent Rd photo has gained popularity after several travel websites featured it. Its users have also posted hundreds of similar photos on Instagram at the site.
Residents of a New Plymouth country road fear someone will be injured or killed soon, as dozens of people flock to flag a popular iconic image on photo-sharing websites.
On a clear day, Kate Kilgour said she could guarantee that people, sometimes in the van, would stop on the side of Kent Rd at 100 km / h to take a photo in front of Mount Taranaki.
The favorite pose is to stand or sit on the double yellow center lines of the road on top of a hill, often invisible to approaching vehicles until they are a few feet away.
The Kent Rd photo has gained popularity in recent years after several travel websites, including Trip Advisor, featured the photo. The ad has also been “tagged” hundreds of times on the photo-sharing platform Instagram.
READ MORE:
* Biking, walking in New Plymouth is safer now than it was a decade ago thanks to a $ 12 million investment
* 600 properties encroaching on public land for private use in the New Plymouth district
* Police are looking for the ID of the shirt found in search of missing homeless people
“Someone is going to die very soon,” Kilgour said.
“It will be one of us who hits them, someone who hits the roads every day, and then they will have to live with it.”
One of those locals is Kilgour’s husband, who recently “almost killed someone” just below the top of the hill.
He reported the incident to the police in the hope that it would make sense of the problem.
ANDY JACKSON / Stuff
Residents of Kent Rd, near New Plymouth, say that on any clear day, large numbers of people stand or sit in the middle of the country road to take a picture with Mount Taranaki in the background.
Kilgour has also filed complaints with the New Plymouth District Council (NPDC) and its councilors, since May 2019, calling for safety measures.
Promises have been made that something will be done, he said, but so far there has been nothing.
Residents are disappointed, he added.
“I know it is not an easy solution. I am sure you are interested in allowing photography because it is good for tourism to get those beautiful photos of the mountain, but on the other hand, we have a big security problem.
“And with this frenzy on social media, things are going to get worse and worse.”
NPDC David Langford said the authority had spoken with 10 locals regarding the issue, but had no plans to make changes.
“It is worth noting that our roads are designed for vehicles, not as observation platforms, but it is up to the police to enforce that,” he said in an emailed statement.
Langford said there have been reports of two accidents on Kent Rd in the last 10 years.
“We always remind drivers to make sure to stop in a safe area and stay off the road if they want to take a photo of our iconic Mounga.”
Kent Rd isn’t the only place in the country that has caused security concerns, as people struggle to reproduce popular photographs.
Anawhata Beach, 50 km from Auckland, has seen people invade private property and stand on a 50-meter rock face to get the perfect shot.
Attractive but safer Taranaki photography spots
– Te Rewa Rewa Bridge
– Goblin Forest
– Rock Paritutu
– Cape Egmont Lighthouse
– The Pouakai circuit
– The Len Lye Center
