Highway changes planned before hospital build

Planned changes to Dunedin’s one-way system ahead of the new hospital build include a Barnes Dance crossing and a pair of traffic light-controlled pedestrian crossings.

NZ Transport Agency Waka Kotahi (NZTA) was seeking public feedback on proposed traffic changes for "safe and efficient access’’ to the new Dunedin hospital, a statement released yesterday said.

Proposed changes will affect Cumberland St (State Highway 1) and St Andrew St (State Highway 88) — the hospital’s main inpatient and outpatient public entrances will open on to the intersection of these two streets.

A Barnes Dance crossing, where pedestrians cross in all directions at once, is proposed for the intersection.

Two new traffic light-controlled pedestrian crossings will cross SH1 outside the nearby Woolworths and New World supermarkets.

Under the proposal, the westbound right turn from St Andrew St on to Cumberland St would be removed "to make space and time for the increased number of pedestrians, including people with mobility needs, to cross the road’’, the statement said.

Frederick St would become the new SH88, moving right-turning traffic from St Andrew St to other streets.

If the right turn at St Andrew St and State Highway 1 (SH1) northbound is removed, NZ Transport Agency Waka Kotahi says traffic will spread across six main alternative routes (the southernmost route is not shown on the map, but is believed to be south of Jervois St) with almost a third of the vehicles moving to Frederick St. At present, 200-250 vehicles make the St Andrew St right turn every hour on weekdays between 8am and 6pm. NZTA says the alternative routes can handle the additional traffic.

The changes had been developed in partnership with the Dunedin City Council after previous rounds of community feedback, the statement said.

NZTA regional relationships director Ian Duncan said the changes were aimed at making the area safer once the new hospital opened.

Up to 10,000 pedestrians were expected in the area daily, he said.

The changes also aimed to maintain good traffic flow for road users in and out of the CBD, he said.

"Some of the proposed changes will mean road users having to adapt to new ways of moving through the area, but we think these are practical and sensible moves to make it safe and efficient for everyone"

Mr Duncan said public feedback on the current proposed changes would need to be considered before any work on the affected streets took place.

A lower speed limit on the one-way-north Cumberland St had been previously signalled, but was not mentioned in any of the proposed changes.

Feedback closes on July 28 and can be made online, at council service centres or by post.

— APL