The Hāwea Community Association (HCA) is still mystified as to why the Gladstone Track has been littered with so many signposts. 

Queenstown Lakes District Council’s (QLDC) plan to install more than 40 safety signs along Lake Hāwea’s scenic Gladstone Track was paused in October last year after concerns were raised by the HCA. 

HCA member John Taylor asked the Wānaka Upper Clutha Community Board (WUCC) why the bright orange, A3 size signs on 2.4m high posts were needed and why the community hadn’t been consulted.

Even dogs seem puzzled by why a sign was needed here to signal a corner. PHOTO: Wānaka  App

WUCCB member John Wellington (who is also a member of the Upper Clutha Tracks Trust) called it an “inappropriate level of signage”, saying the original plans would mean a sign every 300 metres or so along the 6km track.

“I’ve been involved in creating tracks in the community for 16 years and this is, I think, totally over the top and unnecessary for this location,” he said.

Go deeper: Track signs still a mystery

QLDC parks contract manager Adrian Hoddinott told the Wānaka App this month the signs were to “highlight parts of the trail that need more attention”. 

“A great example is road crossings and parts of the trail which have steep drop offs. We use a number of nationally recognised documents alongside our own guidelines to decide on where signage is appropriate. We also try to combine these guidelines with our own expertise on the track as we are all avid users of our trails.”

The Wānaka App asked for more detail and was supplied with MBIE’s NZ Cycle Trail Design Guide, NZTA’s Cycling Standards and Guidance, and DOC’s Cycle Track Service Standards, which council said were “used in parallel with council’s own Tracks and Trails Guidelines”.

However, following consultation with Hāwea based councillor Cody Tucker, Adrian said the number of signs required had been reduced; the colour of the signs changed from red to either yellow or blue; and the height of the signs lowered to approximately 1.5 metres with the sign reduced to the size of an A4 piece of paper.

There are now two colour options for the signs: blue or yellow. PHOTO: Supplied

QLDC told the Wānaka App the original signage plan cost approximately $10,000 for purchase and installation, and said the revised implementation plan would cost less than that.

Adrian said council would continue to work with Cody and the HCA “to come to an acceptable outcome which meets our safety obligations and the community's expectation around appropriate signage”.

But following an HCA meeting on February 10, HCA chair Cherilyn Walthew said a resolution had “not really” been reached on the issue.

“The community still wants to understand why this particular track has been singled out and targeted with such heavy-handed numbers of signs, and what ‘they’ are trying to achieve with them,” she said.

Cherilyn said while the community would get to choose which new colour it preferred for the signs, “we want to make it clear this is not confirmation of our support for the signs”. 

Cody Tucker remained confident “a practical compromise” would be reached but said the debate had highlighted the need for consistency of track signage across the Upper Clutha.