Name confusion over crash

Confusion over a road name saw fire fighters from Katikati, Athenree and Waihi all called to the same road accident earlier today.

A car struck a bank near Woodlands Road on State Highway 2, which is near the Old Tauranga Road intersection north of the Athenree Gorge.


Even the highway sign can't get it right.

Katikati firefighters were also called out because it was thought the accident was on SH2 near Woodland Road, south of Katikati.

The single-vehicle accident involved a vehicle striking a bank on a bend. The woman driver was unhurt and firefighters believe speed and a wet road were the main factors.

Katikati fire fighter Brendan Gibbs says the reason for the confusion is Woodlands Road and Woodland Road are the same road.

'It's a paper road that goes through the hill and comes out the other side of Katikati,” says Brendan.

'It's funny how one has an ‘S' on it and one hasn't. You can tramp it, and some people do tramp it. It's one and the same road.”

'I don't know why they didn't put it through, I guess it's all the hills. They probably had the gravel road there for years and years.”

The spelling change is probably accidental. Until a couple of years ago, Brendan says Carisbrooke Street, Katikati was spelt both Carisbrooke and Carisbrook – depending on which end of the street it was.

And for many years Harington Street in Tauranga was also known as Harrington Street.

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4 comments

Cringe Territory

Posted on 27-03-2015 12:37 | By SonnyJim

It is so hard to get road names rational. Like Wilson Rd North & Wilson Rd South which join across a main highway - tricky when looking for Wilson Road. A REAL DUMB RECENT CHANGE. At least TRANSIT tried when they deleted the ownership 's' from signs to 'crisp' things up a bit. But Woodlands and Woodland takes the cake!


Spelling Deliberate

Posted on 27-03-2015 12:46 | By Bill Gibson-Patmore

Just my tuppence worth...... For fifty years that I've known about (and tramped the 'paper road') the difference in spelling was deliberate, so as to differentiate one road from the other. They are in different counties and even regions. Early Lands and Survey maps - which we used for the opening-up of tramping facilities in the Kaimais - have since at least 1950 (and possibly 50 years before that) shown the "Waihi" road as Woodlands (plural), whilst the road nearer Katikati in Tauranga County, as it was at the time, has always been spelt in singular. The hope had always been to avoid the confusion that could happen in emergencies, and to allow residents of each road to have a "less confusing" address. It may not be an ideal solution, but much, much better than spelling them both the same. . Bill Gibson-Patmore


The sign is correct

Posted on 27-03-2015 14:01 | By Scoop

The road name sign Woodland Road is correct. In the late 70's the old Department of Lands and Survey advised Councils to drop the s's off road names unless they were part of the surname of the identity the road was named after, with the result that Woodlands Road became Woodland Road. Several others also underwent a similar change. The sign post of Woodland Road has been in existance since then. Despite this for effective response it relies on the individual making the call for help to be as detailed as they can when providing location information. If it was a local needing assistance they would have known what section of Woodland Road they were on.


!

Posted on 27-03-2015 21:13 | By Capt_Kaveman

Patterson st and when Tauranga stole the Mt, one sign was replaced with Paterson so what is the correct name?


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