The beach end of Tasman Road got its long-awaited speed hump at the end of May, but the installation wasn’t without its bumps.

The oriiginal hump that contractors installed was too aggressive, forcing drivers to near-stand-still to avoid damage to their vehicles. Kāpiti Coast District Council found that the work was not to specifications and the contractors were back within days to fix the problem. The hump is now the same as another one at the town end of the Tasman Road straight.

While local social media lit up with complaints when the original hump was installed, posts soon showed an appreciation of the work, which has been on the agenda of Ōtaki Community Board’s “scheduled works” for some time.

One resident who lives just past the hump said she had noticed that traffic had definitely slowed down.

“Of course we still get the odd idiot speeding up after going over the hump,” she said.

Since the road from the township to the beach was constructed about 1919, it has enticed speedsters, tempted by its lack of corners. Even the rough track until bitumen was laid in 1935 had a 20mph (30km/h) speed limit. Several young drivers have ended up in the adjoining paddocks.

Meantime, the footpath along the straight is getting upgraded, with work already under way at the township end past Ngā Purapura.

KCDC says contractors will be upgrading the path in stages.

“At the moment we’re upgrading the first 600 metres of path. We hope to complete the rest in the near future, subject to budget allowing,” a spokesman said.