Residents in Christchurch's Aranui are up in arms over the installations of new bollards and speed bumps in their suburb, arguing they weren't adequately consulted.
The project cost $2.6 million and was 90% funded by NZTA Waka Kotahi.
Eastern Eagles Rugby League Club secretary Fina Fa'amoe told Breakfast this morning: "They've been going up since February.
"Nobody was consulted from the club. The only issue we have is that they've blocked off [car parks].
"About 20 car parks on Hampshire St [are blocked], and we have two other car parks but one's a small one and one's for the community hall to be used.
"Saturday, I think a lot of people will be parking on the grass or bowling over the bollards."
Fa'amoe said the park hosts community events as well, so it doesn't just affect players and their families.
Some community members have told Fa'amoe they're "gonna come bowl them over", she continued.
"They want to get rid of them. They understand the safety of the bollards – but they also don't understand why they've been put to block parking which is for our club and park users.
"Where's everybody else supposed to park?"
Not everyone shares Fa'amoe's view. Peggy Burrows, principal of nearby Haeata Community Campus, told the Press: "The children were worried about their younger brothers and sisters getting run over by silly people going fast all the time."
And Chisnallwood Intermediate School principal Justin Fields said students "were a lot safer as a result" of the project.
Fa'amoe acknowledged the schools: "I can understand that it's for the safety of the children, but it's also, our main concern was just the parking for our club users and our club visitors and community users as well."
Christchurch City Councillor Kelly Barber joined Breakfast after Fa'amoe.
He said the consultation could have been "a lot better", adding the Hampshire St section was a small part of a bigger project.
"The vast majority of residents didn't actually know that anything was happening until the bollards went up, and that's a bit of a failure.
"The particular part that Fina's talking about, I tend to agree with her," Barber continued.
"When I first saw that intervention, it raised my eyebrows and the eyebrows of a few others.
"This is inset parking that was off the road.
"But really this is just part of a wider project to slow people down in the area, to make it safer for kids," he said, adding some residents were pleased to see the installation.
Some of the bollards could be pulled out depending on the outcome of a community meeting tomorrow.
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