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Parents picking up their children after school use a Great King St pedestrian crossing which will be removed in December when traffic lights are installed at the nearby State Highway 1 intersection with Howe St. Photo by Peter McIntosh. |
The installation of traffic lights at the intersection of
Great King St (State Highway 1) and Howe St has been welcomed
by Dunedin's George St Normal School.
The $180,000 lights are scheduled to be switched on before
Christmas.
It was one of the few intersections on SH1 in North Dunedin
not controlled by traffic signals, the agency said.
Work had just started and would include the removal of a
pedestrian crossing on Great King St.
Pedestrians, including school pupils, would be encouraged to
cross at the signal-controlled intersection instead.
NZTA Otago-Southland state highways operations manager Roger
Bailey said it would improve pedestrian safety.
A kerbside drop-off and pick-up area would replace the
pedestrian crossing, providing a "higher margin of safety"
for motorists, cyclists and pedestrians alike.
Of the four people seriously injured in crashes at the
intersection in the past five years, two were pedestrians.
George St Normal School principal Rod Galloway said the
changes were a welcome improvement, boosting safety.
Pedestrian crossings on one-way systems could be problematic
because if a car in one lane stopped for pedestrians, they
could be obscured from the view of drivers in other lanes, he
said.
rosie.manins@odt.co.nz
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