22 January 2009
With the long weekend approaching and several major events taking place Waikato Police are urging motorists to plan their trips and consider using alternative routes.
Waikato Road Policing Manager, Inspector Leo Tooman said with the A1 Grand Prix taking place in Taupo roads in the Waikato were likely to come under pressure.
"They're expecting big numbers converging on Taupo, to get there a large number of people will be transiting through here and a significant percentage expected to make the trip down from Auckland.
"In addition we have a number of large scale events within the Waikato itself including the Parachute Festival at Mystery Creek, the Tribal Pride Festival at Hopu Hopu on Saturday and the Rotary Nationals at Meremere Sunday."
All three events were expecting crowds several thousand strong.
"We're expecting about 25,000 to attend Parachute, last year at the Rotary Nationals we had an 8,000 strong crowd and the Tribal Pride organisers expect about 5,000 people to attend their event.
"Traffic management staff will be on hand at each event to help maintain a smooth traffic flow however delays should be expected, we recommend travellers travelling north to south consider using the alternative SH2-SH27 network for their journey."
So far this year six people have died on Waikato roads compared to one for the same period last year, the Police's main focus will be to ensure this figure is not added to.
"So the public can expect to see a high profile Police presence on the roads this holiday weekend and staff will have little tolerance for anyone found speeding."
With fine weather forecast Police expect thousands of people, not going to any of the main events mentioned to still flow out of Auckland and Hamilton towards Waikato holiday spots.
"Coupled with this we'll also have people returning home from school holidays so it's pretty clear we can expect high traffic volumes and we ask people to plan for this accordingly," said Mr Tooman.
"Allow yourself plenty of time, ensure you've got the air con on and exercise caution out there on the roads, that way we'll all make our destinations in one piece."
End