Bent Cops

The above drongo tried to run me down at the Glasgow Street/Somme Parade give way intersection so I reported it to the cops and Sergeant Colin Wright cleared my complaint because the driver hadn’t seen me, which was untrue as you can see the driver looking directly at me. Wright did however concede that the intersection needed additional safety measures as there had been a number of cyclist knocked over there in the recent past so, ever the genius, he made things much worse by persuading the Council to paint a green line to lull cyclist into thinking they had the right of way. I told Wright that a stop sign or better still a speed hump would slow the buggers down, but no, insanity prevailed. All the pictured cars were doing at least 40kph through the give way area.

Clearly Sergeant Wright’s green line hadn’t improved the situation at all so I contacted the City Council road safety people.

There’s been more close shaves but you get the idea.

Glasgow Street/Somme Parade Road 23/00136

David Lane <David.Lane@downer.co.nz>	Mon, Mar 27, 1:45 PM (8 days ago)
to me, Infrastructure

Hello Jack, I have been asked to look into your concerns about this intersection. Apologies for the delay in responding, but as you may be aware the intersection has recently been resealed and it was necessary to allow that work to proceed as scheduled.

I have taken the opportunity to raise this issue with others in the team, notably our Road Safety Engineer and also the cycling coordinator. I have also looked into the crash history and am aware of the issues with regards cycling through the intersection.

Firstly, if I can deal with the issue of the green cycle lane. The cycle lane is to be repainted in green following recent resealing. The reason for this is that it is regarded as best practice, the green cycle lane makes it very obvious of the presence of cyclists and it serves as a reminder to motorists using the intersection. Council uses the green paint in areas where there is a need to highlight the presence of cyclists, often at busy traffic signal controlled intersections. This treatment comes at considerable cost, hence it is used sparingly. In this case we feel it is necessary to have it installed on Somme Parade because there has been a history of cycle crashes.

Secondly, you have suggested upgrading the give way sign to a stop sign, and also consider the need for a speed hump. Glasgow Street is an arterial road and as such we do not generally consider speed humps as suitable for those locations. The route is being promoted as a freight route and is being used by buses, so speed humps are not really appropriate.

In terms of the give way control, the current layout has been implemented fairly recently, previously the intersection operated with a merge control which allowed the Somme Parade traffic and Glasgow Street to merge rather than give way. The give way control was implemented around 2013 and I suspect risks to cyclists would have been a consideration in that change.

The give way rules are the same at stop signs and give way signs. Stop signs are generally only considered if there is a reduced sight distance. In this case the sight distance is generous, visibility is well beyond the required distance where a stop sign should be installed. (NZTA suggests 60-72 metres sight distance at minimum). So to install a stop sign would be going against guidance. The other issue with stop signs is that some drivers will still fail to stop, this could arise easily at this intersection as opposing traffic on Somme Parade moving into Glasgow Street would give the impression nothing is coming from the right, hence a driver would possibly conclude it is safe to proceed. My concern is that potential for crashes will still exist, even with a stop sign. A driver can still drive into the intersection without adequate checking to the right.

We have recently removed some signage at this intersection that was potentially confusing. The signage was installed showing the unusual layout but was possibly contributing to confusion amongst drivers. Too much signage at intersections can be a factor in crashes as drivers can miss the most vital sign. I would like to continue to monitor the intersection and driver behaviour once the green cycle lanes are marked. We can consider additional signage and possibly a change of signage if we are satisfied it will help. In the meantime I suggest you continue to exercise care.

Finally, Council has allocated funding for construction of  a shared pathway on the opposite side of Somme Parade. When constructed this will reduce the use of Somme Parade by cyclists. I expect progress to be made on that work this year.

I am happy to discuss any of this information with you if you wish to call. My contact details are below.

Regards

David Lane
Whanganui Alliance Performance Manager

Whanganui District Council
New Zealand

“In the meantime I suggest you continue to exercise care”

I’ve decided that David Lane is a drongo.

 
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And half a k from the dreaded intersection the cops are busy revenue gathering on Somme Parade. Note their portable speed hump. I told them they should be up the road a bit but they wouldn’t budge, it looks like cyclist safety comes last.