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Bulge battle<br />
BY JONATHAN LEASK<br />
Local democracy reporter<br />
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Safety measures being installed<br />
on Melcombe Street are “a<br />
disaster”, an <strong>Ashburton</strong> District<br />
councillor says.<br />
Councillor Richard Wilson had<br />
receivedalot of feedback about<br />
the new roadnarrowing bulges<br />
being installed on Melcombe St in<br />
Tinwald, so he went and<br />
measured them.<br />
“They are2.5m on either side,<br />
so that’s a5mwidth of road.<br />
“The minimum width of road in<br />
New Zealand is supposed to be<br />
3m, so we have arestriction on a<br />
council roadthat’s 5m wide.<br />
“We’ve taken aroad that is big,<br />
wide, and safe and turned it into<br />
adisaster”.<br />
Roading manager Mark<br />
Chamberlain said the bulges are<br />
part of Waka Kotahi’s Tinwald<br />
corridor improvement project,<br />
and are designed to lower speed<br />
and deter rat runners –the<br />
drivers detouring down the side<br />
road to jump ahead of the SH1<br />
traffic.<br />
Infrastructure and open spaces<br />
group manager Neil McCann said<br />
it’s all about slowing traffic and<br />
making the road safer for cyclists,<br />
pedestrians and residents.<br />
“It may be that wide vehicles<br />
cannot pass each other at these<br />
narrow points, but that is how<br />
traffic is calmed and driver<br />
behaviour changed.<br />
“Hopefully it will even stop<br />
some of those campervans and<br />
other high vehicles using<br />
Melcombe St and then getting<br />
stuck under the viaduct.”<br />
The viaduct, linking Melcombe<br />
St to SH1 under the railway line,<br />
will remain open to twoway<br />
traffic following public<br />
consultation on the Tinwald<br />
Waka Kotahi NZ Transport<br />
Agency contractors have begun<br />
work on roadnarrowing bulges<br />
on MelcombeStreet, designed to<br />
lower speed and deter “rat<br />
runners”.<br />
PHOTO JONATHAN LEASK/LDR<br />
Corridor project.<br />
Councillor Lynette Lovett is<br />
already calling for areview of the<br />
viaduct access, suggesting it<br />
should be closed to traffic as it<br />
continues to cause further<br />
congestion issues.<br />
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