Traffic lights preferred option for pedestrian crossing on busy route to Wellington airport

Wednesday, 22 May 2019

Traffic lights are reportedly the preferred option for a pedestrian crossing on Wellington's Cobham Drive on State Highway 1.

One of the first steps to get Wellington moving could potentially slow it down.

A traffic light-controlled pedestrian crossing on busy Cobham Dr, on State Highway 1, is expected to be one of the first projects completed as part of the multibillion-dollar Let's Get Wellington Moving (LGWM) programme.

It's hoped the crossing - on the section of SH1 between Evans Bay Parade and Miramar Ave - will be completed some time next year, along with a cycleway and dedicated bus lanes at peak times on Thorndon Quay.

Traffic lights would give cyclists and pedestrians access across the busy section of State Highway 1.

The three projects, as well as reducing vehicle speeds to 30kmh in much of the central city, will be the first changes made to the city's transport network as part of the $6.4 billion LGWM plan announced last week.

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The preferred location is just east of the Troy St roundabout, near the ASB Sports Centre.

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The project will be one of the first completed as part of the $6.4 billion Let's Get Wellington Moving project.

LGWM engagement lead Willy Trolove said the location and design of the Cobham Dr crossing was yet to be determined, and would be subject to public feedback.

But Wellington City councillor Chris Calvi-Freeman, who holds the council's transport strategy and operations portfolio and is part of the LGWM governance group, said the preferred option was for a triggered, traffic light crossing slightly east of the Troy St roundabout.

Clearways for buses on Thorndon Quay at peak times are also a priority.

Exact costs could not be provided, but the crossing would be about a quarter of the cost of a bridge or underpass, Calvi-Freeman said.

'I would be very disappointed if our [council] officers couldn't make that happen within a year.'

A cycleway along Thorndon Quay is also expected to be completed next year.

The busy four-lane, two-way road is the main link between the eastern suburbs and the Wellington CBD, via the Mt Victoria Tunnel.

But Calvi-Freeman said the crossing would have a minimal effect on traffic. It would be split on either side of the median strip, with one set of lights for the two eastbound lanes and another for the two westbound lanes.

'In the off-peak it wouldn't be triggered very often. And in the peak hours, when traffic is very heavy and slow-moving anyway, it wouldn't make a jot of difference.'

LGWM programme director Barry Mein confirmed an underpass or overbridge was not part of the group's current thinking, but said options for the crossing were still being considered.

The crossing has been proposed to make it safer for pedestrians and cyclists to access the Evans Bay cycleway and community facilities in Kilbirnie and Lyall Bay.

The Thorndon Quay cycleway would run along both sides of the road, with parallel parking to replace angled parks.

Clearways for buses would be created southbound in the morning peak and northbound in the afternoon peak. Calvi-Freeman hoped both projects would also be completed by next year.

LGWM is a 20-year, joint venture between the city council, Greater Wellington Regional Council and the New Zealand Transport Agency aimed at fixing traffic congestion between Wellington Airport and the Ngauranga Gorge.

A regional council spokesman said $1m had been budgeted for the project in the 2019-20 financial year, to be spent on further investigation and preparing business cases for the various projects. Bus priority was its immediate focus.

A city council spokesman said $3.3m had been allocated in the council's 10-Year Plan for the first three years of the programme.

That included half a million dollars in the first two years for urban regeneration work. Further money has been set aside for reducing speed limits.

Mein said he hoped NZTA would grant approval in July for the development of business cases and design of the first projects.