Another cyclist death on Wellington's State Highway 2 'only a matter of time'

Wednesday, 24 February 2021

A shared pathway between Ngauranga and Petone has received funding. First published April 2019.

There are fears another cyclist will be killed on State Highway 2 north of Wellington before a separate cycle and walkway is completed along the route.

In February 2020, Brent Norriss, 65, died after he was struck by a vehicle while riding his bike along the highway near Horokiwi. The driver who hit him, Khing Tiang Wong, admitted to checking GPS co-ordinates on his phone moments earlier.

Almost exactly a year to the day after the crash, the Government announced plans to fast-track a shared path along the harbour, parallel to the highway between Ngāūranga and Petone. The project is set to be completed by 2024, but is already over budget before the first shovel has hit the ground.

Cyclists participate in a memorial ride for Brent Norriss along State Highway 2 after his death in February 2020.

Meanwhile, cyclists who travel along the stretch of road where the fatal crash occurred say three years is too long to wait for the road to be made safer.

* Driver who killed cyclist Brent Norriss was on his phone before the crash

* Construction on Petone to Melling cycling and walking link underway

An aerial view of State Highway 2 south of Lower Hutt, near where Brent Norriss died.

Cyclists on State Highway 2 commemorate Brent Norriss' death. People who use the route say too many drivers are using their phones.

Duane Wilkins used to enjoy cycling from his home in Taitā to his workplace on The Terrace. However, since Norriss’ death he had avoided riding along SH2.

An artist’s impression of a bridge which will provide access to a shared pathway at Ngāūranga, which cyclists hope will make the route from Wellington to Lower Hutt safer.

“Knowing that could be anyone of us. I just can’t risk it,” he said.

When commuting during morning rush hour, he noticed about one in six drivers using their phones.

To make matters worse, along some sections of the road the cycle lane used to travel north is only about a metre wide, he said, with just a white line on the road separating cyclists from vehicles travelling at speeds of up to 100kmh.

Cyclist Brent Norriss was killed on State Highway 2 near Wellington by distracted driver Khing Tiang Wong. Wong's licence was suspended when he was sentenced for causing Norriss' death, but has since been partly reinstated for work purposes.

Wilkins said immediate remedial work was needed on the highway to keep cyclists safe while the cycleway was built. That could be as simple as painting more of the cycle lane green, to alert drivers to its presence.

Without such improvements, he was convinced the consequences would be grave: “Someone else will die, if not killed then seriously injured.”

Cycling advocate Jo Clendon agreed urgent action was needed to get drivers off their phones on SH2.

“We can’t just go ‘never mind, you can be safe in a few years’ time’,' she said.

Clendon and Wilkins' calls for action come just days after Judge Peter Butler ruled Wong, who was disqualified from driving for 18 months at his sentencing in November, should be allowed to drive for work purposes.

Wong's application for a limited licence was originally due to be heard last week but was delayed after the presiding Judge, Arthur Tompkins, said he was not confident he could be 'appropriately neutral” when making a decision as he had cycled where Norriss was killed before and been concerned about other motorists’ driving on that road.

The crash in which Norriss died was one of five involving cyclists that occurred on the 5-kilometre stretch of SH2 between Ngāūranga and Petone in the five years from 2016 to 2020, according to Waka Kotahi (New Zealand Transport Agency) data.

Those figures included a crash in 2017, which left a cyclist with serious injuries, but did not include another between two cyclists at the Petone onramp on February 12, 2021.

Waka Kotahi was continually making improvements to SH2 to make it safer for cyclists, a spokesperson said.

That included painting white buffer zones, green blocks and cycle symbols on the road between Ngāūranga and Petone and installing cycle-activated electronic warning signs at the BP driveway entrance and the Horokiwi turn-off.

A police spokesperson said they recommended drivers turn of their phones or store them out of reach while driving.

If they need to use their phone they must pull over first.

The spokesperson said it was difficult to police highways without a traffic management plan, but police regularly police the roads that feed into the highway.