Has the decades-old Wellington tradition of tooting your horn as you drive through the Mt Victoria Tunnel finally worn thin?
Wellington City councillor Chris Calvi-Freeman wants drivers to stop honking inside the tunnel that links the CBD to the eastern suburbs because he says it annoys pedestrians.
He is writing to the New Zealand Transport Agency (NZTA) asking for signs to be put at the ends of the tunnel, which is part of State Highway 1, suggesting people don't sound their horns while driving through.
"Most people don't realise when they are driving through that it is not really one of these victimless things," said Calvi-Freeman, who holds the council's transport strategy and operations portfolio.
"What you are doing is creating a great level of annoyance for people walking through the tunnel."
While NZTA said it would "consider any request" for new signage from Wellington City Council, tooting in the tunnel was "a tradition that (some) Wellington drivers have been doing for decades."
"We know that this is a Wellington tradition that isn't likely to stop anytime soon," said NZTA regional transport systems manager Mark Owen.
"We do ask drivers to spare a thought for those walking and riding through the tunnel and consider laying off the horn when they see pedestrians or cyclists on the raised walkway," Owen added.
The agency confirmed the Road Code specified that a horn "should only be used as a reasonable traffic warning. It should not make an unnecessary or unreasonably loud, harsh or shrill noise," it stated.
However, enforcement of this aspect of the code was "at the discretion of police." Police have been approached for comment.
Pedestrian advocate Ellen Blake, vice president of Living Streets Aotearoa, strongly supported the idea saying the tooting in the tunnel was "really loud" for people walking through.
"It makes it really unpleasant. The noise makes it worse ... I think people should read the road rules which says you're not allowed to use a horn willy-nilly anyway. You're not allowed to just go along tooting. It's illegal."
She believed a crackdown on sounding horns in the tunnel would send a strong message that pedestrians were valued.
"I think it would be quite easy for us to encourage more people to [walk] more often, by valuing it more, by saying tooting in the tunnel is not ok."
Wellington Mayor Justin Lester acknowledged tooting could be annoying for pedestrians and cyclists, but said it was "not the end of the world".
"I think Wellingtonians can decide whether they want to toot. It's a long-standing tradition in Wellington and it's a bit of fun.
"I know from personal experience, my kids always encourage me to toot, because it's fun and they love it.
But Rongotai MP Paul Eagle said Calvi-Freeman's suggestion was "mean-spirited" and "anti-Wellington".
He accused Calvi-Freeman of pulling an early election stunt.
There would be a second tunnel built at some stage as part of the Let's Get Wellington Moving project aimed at fixing the city's traffic congestion, and there were more important things for the city to worry about, Eagle said.
Opinions of tunnel-users were mixed on Tuesday.
"I think it's one of those sort of legacy things ... everybody knows you [go] through the Mt Vic tunnel and you can toot. It's a shame they're trying to ban it," Kilbirnie resident Sofia Paterson said.
"I think the ban is a waste of time and money, so I think council really needs to look at infrastructure and also the conditions of our roads, rather than something stupid like tooting in a tunnel."
Hataitai resident Astrid Bidder, 33, supported Calvi-Freeman's anti-tooting stance.
"I think the ban would be amazing ... I used to be a tunnel tooter, but then I started walking through it and realised just how full-on it is in there for pedestrians."
Tunnel cyclist Morgan Fowler, 24, said it was a fun tradition for people in cars. "But I always get a fright when I'm on my bike," he said.
"Once you get used to it, it's all good."
The Mt Victoria tunnel tooting tradition was understood to have begun as a way to pay tribute to murdered teenager Phillis Symons. The 17-year-old was believed to have been buried alive in dirt fill while the tunnel was being built in 1931.
Last August, nanotechnologist Dr Michelle Dickinson, known as Nanogirl, described the Mt Victoria Tunnel as "one of the most toxic tunnels in the world."
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