Christine Munro broke her leg in three places after slipping on yellow tactile dots on the corner of Campbell Rd and Anzac St in Takapuna last year. Photo / Alex Burton
An urgent call has been made for the city-wide removal of slippery yellow plastic dots installed by Auckland Transport to help the vision-impaired after at least two people have been hospitalised in the last two weeks. Tactile Pad
The yellow plastic dots, or studs, are designed to highlight the roadside for the vision-impaired but many are a dangerous slip hazard when wet.
One woman is in Auckland City Hospital awaiting surgery after breaking her heel bone, fibula and tibia after slipping on the dots in central Auckland on Sunday.
The serious triple break is the same injury suffered by Takapuna woman Christine Munro in September last year.
And two weeks ago a university student slipped and seriously broke her ankle, also needing surgery.
The yellow dots, or studs, are installed and maintained by various contractors employed by Auckland Transport and are a known hazard when it has been raining despite being approved as “non-skid”.
Various groups have tried for at least five years to have them removed and replaced with safer concrete tactile pavers.
At least three women have been seriously injured after slipping on the dots on the corner of Campbell Rd and Anzac St in Takapuna.
Takapuna woman Christine Munro said her life changed in September last year when she slipped on the yellow dots near her home.
Just like the woman in Auckland City Hospital, Munro broke her leg in three places. Her injury was described by her surgeon as more akin to a “skydiving accident where the parachute didn’t open”.
Munro slipped on the yellow dots at the end of her street in Takapuna the night before she was to fly to New York to celebrate her 75th birthday. She was looking forward to seeing her daughter and grandchildren for the first time in four years.
Munro said she waited “in extreme pain” for an ambulance for more than 45 minutes and ended up being transported to North Shore Hospital in the back of a neighbour’s SUV. Two men at a bar across the road fashioned a splint out of a beer box so she could be moved.
“They were amazing and brought over an umbrella from the bar to keep me dry and made a splint out of a Steinlager box so they could get me into the car. I was in absolute agony.”
Munro broke her heel bone, her fibula, and tibia and spent 20 days in hospital, 10 days at a rest home, and then three months in a wheelchair after the slip.
Instead of celebrating in New York, Munro spent her birthday in hospital having “external fixation” where bolts were put through her skin into her knee and ankle bones to stabilise the break.
“That was the worst pain imaginable and I actually have nightmares about it. I wouldn’t wish that on anyone.”
Munro, usually very upbeat and positive, said the time at the rest home was terrible for her mental health.
“They put me in a place where people were at various stages of dying. It was awful and I cried every day. I was in so much pain and actually felt like I might die.
“I would like to ask the powers who be whose brainwave allowed these yellow dots to be used in the first place.
“I tell anyone who will listen ‘Please do not step on those yellow dots, they are so dangerous.’”
Even now, almost a year after her slip, Munro said she was in a lot of pain and was on a cocktail of painkillers.
She will need surgery again soon to further correct the screws which have moved.
“My leg aches a lot and I went from being very fit and active to having to take the stairs one at a time,” she said.
“My son-in-law saw my X-ray and said it looked like his toolbox. There are screws, plates and bolts holding it all together.”
A medical expert spoken to by the Herald said Munro’s complicated surgery, specialised hospital care, and follow-up appointments would have cost the healthcare system upwards of $70,000.
ACC could not provide figures for the 20 days in hospital or surgery because it bulk funds hospital care, but said Munro’s aftercare including physiotherapy cost close to $9000.
The cost to replace the yellow dots with non-skid tactile pavers is about $15,000.
A month before Munro slipped Nelson woman Sally Quickfall was visiting Auckland for her nephew’s 30th birthday.
Quickfall slipped and broke her back on the same yellow dots on the corner of Campbell Rd and Anzac St in Takapuna.
“I was walking along with my husband and daughter and the next minute I was over and on the ground,” Quickfall said.
“I was extremely lucky it was a stable fracture otherwise it would have been a lot worse. If I had landed differently I would have had a spinal-cord injury and I could have been paralysed,” Quickfall said.
Quickfall slipped on the dots the morning after overnight rain.
“They are absolutely lethal and should be remedied immediately.”
The injury meant Quickfall couldn’t enjoy her nephew’s birthday and meant the rest of the trip was spent laid-up and on serious painkillers.
The keen tramper cannot carry a heavy pack so longer trips are now avoided.
Real estate agent Monica Bush slipped and broke her ankle in December 2021 on the same corner.
One woman who was seriously injured last year said it was only a matter of time before someone slipped in front of a car and was killed.
“These are on the edge of the road and in front of bus stops. Auckland Transport needs to take ownership of this issue and think about the human cost of these injuries.”
Dianne Rogers, from Blind and Low Vision New Zealand, said tactile pavers were an incredibly important aid for the visually impaired but had to be non-slip.
“If they are a slip hazard when wet, it can be doubly dangerous for the sight-impaired because they can’t see if they are wet.”
Auckland Transport said it was aware of the dangers and was progressively removing the PVC dots, or studs, and replacing them with concrete tactile pavers.
“We do not hold records of all locations where tactile studs have been installed,” an AT spokeswoman said.
AT told campaigners demanding the replacement of the dots that there was not enough money in the budget.
It said each site costs approximately $15,000 to replace depending on the number of pavers needed.
Only four Auckland locations were noted for an upgrade. These included Lake Rd, Takapuna, Beach Rd in Rothesay Bay, 150 Ponsonby Rd, Freeman’s Bay and Hill St in Warkworth.
The corner of Campbell Rd and Anzac St where Christine Munro broke her leg, Monica Bush broke her ankle and Sally Quickfall broke her back are not included. Neither is the central Auckland site where the latest slip happened.
Chris Darby, Auckland councillor for the North Shore ward, said the slippery tactile pavers were related to poor product specification and poor maintenance.
“AT should be on top of sealing and cleaning pavers and making sure that only products that have passed slip-resistant testing and hold an anti-slip rating are specified.”
Darby told the Herald funding was an issue but it was not an excuse.
“Safety is paramount and not having it in the budget is true but it is not an excuse,” Darby said.
“Right now we are struggling with our safety response and we should have in place safety response budgets so you can address these things immediately.”
Darby said Auckland Council and Auckland Transport were asking people to “walk their neighbourhoods and use public transport” so they needed safe pathways to do so.
“It is a systemic issue and it needs a fundamental change - not just an incremental change.”
Kirsty Wynn is an Auckland-based journalist with more than 20 years of experience in New Zealand newsrooms. She has covered everything from crime and social issues to the property market and has a current focus on consumer affairs.
Balustrade Spigots The couple of almost 10 years tied the knot on Saturday in Hawke's Bay.