Reprieve sought for blocked ambulance bay in Masterton
Wed, 16th Sep 2026 (Today)
Parked cars are blocking Wairarapa's ambulances from responding to emergencies - and Masterton District Council has been asked to step in to help.
On Wednesday, councillors will be asked to approve changes to Wairarapa's traffic bylaws and extend the existing no-stopping zone on Russell St in Masterton to include the street frontage of the Wellington Free Ambulance Station.
The current no-stopping zone is 18 metres, but that would more than triple to 60.5m under the bylaw change.
The proposal comes after Wellington Free Ambulance sounded the alarm on issues regarding access for ambulances.
The ambulance station opened in 2025 and, since then, there has been a consistent issue with vehicles parking along the station frontage and obstructing ambulance access, a report to the council said.
The frontage had been designed as a continuous dropped kerb to provide unobstructed access to the ambulance bays.
As stated in the Land Transport (Road User) Rule 2004, parking alongside any part of kerb crossing provided for a driveway or within 1m of the side of a driveway was regarded as obstructing entry or exit and was an offence under the rules.
"However, given the length of the kerb, it could be difficult to distinguish the ambulance bay area," the report said.
"While the new Wairarapa Hospice Shop provides off-street parking for approximately 16 vehicles, since their opening, the Wellington Free Ambulance have observed an increase in the number of vehicles parking outside their premises, including directly in front of the ambulance bay exits.
"Wellington Free Ambulance has advised that this has occurred on multiple occasions and has impeded the ability of ambulances to exit the station quickly when responding to emergency callouts."
The report said the situation presented "an obvious risk to the efficient operation of emergency services" because ambulances required immediate and unimpeded access to the road network.
"Any delay caused by parked vehicles could affect emergency response times."
Extending the existing no-stopping restriction along the full length of the dropped kerb frontage would provide a clear and consistent message that parking was not permitted in this location, the report said.
Council staff recommended yellow no-stopping lines be painted on the road surface, consistent with both the request from Wellington Free Ambulance, and good practice as set out in the Land Transport NZ Traffic Control Devices Manual.
The changes would improve visibility of the parking restriction and reduce the chance of confusion, reinforce the existing legal requirement not to obstruct vehicle crossings or driveways, help maintain clear and reliable access for ambulances entering and exiting the station, support timely emergency response by reducing the risk of vehicles blocking ambulance movements, and address concerns raised by the ambulance service regarding repeated access obstructions.
Councillors would also be discussing recovery works needed after the June-July 2026 weather event, which would send the council's flood/storm damage fund into a negative balance of $1.2 million.
The report on this agenda item said NZTA had approved central Government funding assistance towards the costs of the response and recovery efforts for the weather events, being $1,438,739 approved at a 56% funding assistance rate and $2,155,716 approved at 76%.
Also on the agenda was a revised revenue and financing policy in the lead up to the 2027-37 Long-Term Plan, an annual report update, and a new policy for businesses wanting to use public spaces adjoining their premises.
The public spaces policy had been brought to the council table on two different occasions recently, but was sent back for more work and refinement each time.
The policy included a charging framework that would provide a transparent, equitable and proportionate approach to charging for the occupation of public place.
The policy would enable the council to recover the costs associated with assessing and administering applications, while recognising the private commercial benefit derived from occupying public place through an annual occupation charge.
The council is set to meet at 9.30am at the Greater Wellington Regional Council office on Wednesday.
