Please Display Your New RAPID Number

A RAPID number at your gate could save your life or home.

This is the blunt message from Kaipara District Council and the district’s emergency services who are urging rural property owners to erect the new numbers they receive in the mail.

“Please put them up where they can be seen and keep them visible” urges Dargaville St John Team Manager Robyn Guy who says the numbers have been invaluable to ambulance services, especially at night.

“They give us confidence we are going to find the place and save having to slow down and look at every gateway for a name, or even driving up to a house to ask directions. They have made a big difference to our times and there could be cases where this might mean the difference between life and death.”

Kaipara District Council introduced the Rural Address Property Identification (RAPID) response system on rural Kaipara roads in 2001 and it has been of great assistance to emergency services as well as helping residents direct visitors to their properties.

It provides numbers for properties on each road, indicating the entrance’s distance in meters, divided by 10, from the start of the road. Numbers on the right hand side are even and the left are odd. For example, number 373 would be 3.73km from the road’s start and on the left side.

However, the red in the original red and white aluminum plates has faded and many are becoming difficult to read. As a result Council is replacing these with white PVC plates using white M3 reflective tape numbering.

About 3,500 plates are being mailed out to rural property owners and anyone with an old plate who does not receive a new blue and white one by mid August is asked to contact Kaipara District Council on 09 439 7059 or 0800 727 059.

It also appears that there are a large number of rural addresses which do not have any RAPID number. This can be rectified for $25 to cover the costs involved.

“It is a small price to pay for peace of mind,” says Mayor Neil Tiller. “Council believes these numbers are of great value to Kaipara’s rural residents and I urge everyone to support the scheme by ensuring you have a number and displaying it.”