Why did Ben and Meg Cross State Highway 6?

These palm trees stand at the entrance of town. You turn left on State Highway 6 if you're coming from east, say Picton or Blenheim, and go behind these trees. 

We came out of the carpark on Kinzett Terrace, though that hole in the trees, and crossed a State Highway on foot, where we're supposed to cross, for the first time in our 29.5 years in New Zealand, instead of walking a short way to a tunnel. Luckily, around 2.30 on a Sunday, there were few cars.