Nor'West News: July 06, 2023

4
Thursday July 6 2023
Charitable Trust
DRIVER EDUCATION
Speed cushion trial for
Waimairi Rd intersection
•From page 1
Jennison said the school
undertook a travel plan with
the city council after concerns
were raised by parents.
“Some of our youngest pupils
walk to and from school. If
they’re coming from homes to
the north of the Grahams Rd/
Waimairi Rd roundabout, they
have to cross at the roundabout
itself as Waimairi Rd’s
northern footpath ends before
Raxworthy St.”
Jennison said nearby
shrubs can reduce visibility
at the roundabout and bad
weather puts drivers under
pressure.
“Young children don’t always
behave predictably and aren’t
able to anticipate the speed
at which drivers travel, so we
sought to identify a solution
that allowed traffic to flow
steadily but also protected our
young people.”
Aside from the speed
cushions, the Waimāero
Fendalton-Waimairi-
Harewood Community Board
has identified another possible
solution.
City council staff discussed a
trial closure of the left turning
lane from Grahams Rd. But
the board members were not
happy to progress with this
BUSY: Safety improvements will be made at the Waimairi/Grahams Rds
intersection.
option as it could potentially
cause delays for motorists.
Jennison said their
aspirations goal was to
have traffic lights installed at
another local intersection but
said the instalments at the
roundabout are a great start to
making their pupils’ journey to
school safer.
“We appreciate that this
solution might not be every
driver’s preference, but the
parents and staff at our school
who visit the roundabout to
support students’ crossing are
delighted that this action has
been taken.”
Waimairi Ward city
councillor Sam
MacDonald said the
steps to make the
intersection safer,
particularly around the
school, were sensible.
“It is the right thing
to do. I don’t think
people will find this
unreasonable. It makes
it safer for school children and
lets traffic flow.
“If they don’t work, then it
seems sensible to remove the
changes without it costing an
Sam
MacDonald
arm and a leg and look at using
it somewhere else. It is a bit of a
balancing structure.”
The speed cushion
trial is set to last six
months. City council
transport operations
manager Stephen
Wright said the project
will cost $64,858, which
includes the cost of
removing them if the
trial is unsuccessful. Once the
six months are up a report to
the community board will
include additional data and
community feedback.
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