Traffic lights in central Dunedin causing backed up traffic and frustrating motorists to the point they ignore red lights have been controlled via CCTV cameras from Wellington.
The unusual situation on two busy intersections on the north and south one-way systems came about after NZ Transport Agency surfacing work meant detectors co-ordinating the lights were removed.
Cars have been regularly backed up on lower Stuart St recently at the intersection with Castle St, and there have been occasions when the line of vehicles blocked the north-bound route on Cumberland St.
Cumberland St has also been backed up from lower Stuart St towards the Queens Gardens.
This week the Otago Daily Times observed the intersection, and found only about two cars could get through the traffic lights by the Dunedin Railway Station in the seven seconds between when they turned green and when they turned orange.
Often a third car would go though on the orange light, and a fourth driver, tired of waiting, on the red.
The walk signal for pedestrians crossing the one-way, on the other hand, lasted 25 seconds.
Asked what was happening at the intersection, NZTA network manager Chris Harris said the approaches to the signals on the one-ways, which are state highways, were milled out during recent surfacing work to improve skid resistance and safety.
Embedded in the surface were detectors which controlled the timing of the traffic signals, and those also had to be milled out.
The detectors enabled co-ordination of the signals in both southbound and northbound directions. Without the detectors, the signals had to be manually controlled or locked into a set pattern.
"The transport agency is currently in the process of reinstating the detectors at these locations and a number of others on the State Highway 1 one-way system in Dunedin," Mr Harris said.
That work would occur through to early May, and when completed, would restore the previous standard of traffic flow provided by the sensor-linked signals.
In the interim, the Wellington Transport Operations Centre had been managing the signals remotely to keep traffic flowing, keeping an eye on the network via CCTV and making changes to the signals as needed to keep people moving.
Mr Harris said traffic had been better yesterday.
"We apologise for any delays road users may experience while the replacement of these detectors is completed and thank everyone for being patient."
