Robyn Edie/Stuff
Rodney Wright lives on the south side of Tweed St and is appealing for a pedestrian crossing to be installed, so elderly residents can access Invercargill city and its new developments.
An Invercargill man says elderly residents are scared to cross one of the city’s main thoroughfares and are avoiding the central business district because of it.
Rodney Wright lives a few minutes walk from Invercargill’s CBD on Tweed St, but drives his wife across the street whenever she wants to do groceries or see friends because she can’t safely cross the busy road on her mobility device.
Crossing points with tactile tiles are available in about five different locations between Elles Rd and Clyde St, but there is no signage to notify busy oncoming traffic of their presence.
“It’s a game of Russian roulette with the Clyde St crossing … you’re putting your life in your hands there,” Wright said.
READ MORE:
* 1963: Nightmare on ‘Blood Alley’
* Auckland Transport releases new plan for St Heliers speed bumps after backlash
* Warning over safety at Wellington pedestrian crossings
Wright e-mailed the Invercargill City Council to ask for a pedestrian crossing to be installed, and was told that the council had a programme of removing all four lane two-way crossings – or zebra crossings – throughout Invercargill.
Council’s roading assets engineer David McCormick, who replied to Wright, said that the policy was driven by safety, as vehicles stopping in one lane could prevent drivers in the second lane from viewing oncoming pedestrians.
The alternative, a signalised pedestrian crossing, would cost between $250,000 to $300,000, he said.
Wright thought the policy was essentially dividing Invercargill into north city and south city, and could not understand why the council was removing crossings at the same time as investing in a multimillion dollar CBD redevelopment.
“There’s a heck of a lot of people that have mobile scooters … there’s three or four I know of that would like to go down to the gardens, or Countdown or Pak N Save … I’m not asking for traffic lights, just something to identify a crossing with white lines,” he said.
The Wright’s had previously lived in Tasmania for about 23 years, where Rod’s wife had been largely independent using her electric tricycle, despite speed limits being higher.
“It’s [Tweed St] a busy road, but it’s a two-lane road. It’s 50 kph. It’s not a highway. I just don’t see their logic.”
Council strategic asset planning manager Russell Pearson said there were known risks with multi-lane roads like Tweed St, and pedestrian crossings were now no longer considered suitable.
“We do recognise that care is needed in crossing these roads as at times they have higher traffic volumes. Council looks to improve these when associated works are undertaken. In these situations signalised crossings are accepted as being the most appropriate,” he said.
There were currently no plans to place a signalised crossing on Tweed St between Elles Rd and Clyde St, but the council would review the area given the request, he said.
Signalised crossings could cost up to $300,000 to install, and if a crossing was seen as necessary it would need to be planned when safety funding became available, he said.
