Collision corner on the bend from hell
The following is a slightly revised version of a letter sent to a North Shore City Council member (16.10.05)
Regarding the Proposed Variation 66 and Plan Change 6 to NSC District Plan and Landco's "Refined Alternative Structure Plan".
I hope that the following brief comments can be somehow, somewhere noted.
A proposed new major road is shown branching off from Beach Road at the upper end of an accident-prone blind bend. This bend rises sharply from the city end of Long Bay beach, and at the lower end there is already a T-junction with Long Bay Drive.
The proposal looks like an engineering disaster to me. The new road would have to extend out from a high, steep bank of soft road fill, and would descend sharply into the valley of Awaruku Creek. The steep approaches to the new T-junction would require lights, with traffic stopping and starting with maximum braking effort and minimum fuel efficiency, leading to heavy localised exhaust emissions and noise.
A second set of lights would also be needed at the lower, existing T-junction, which has less of a problem with slope, though it is also dangerous because of its location on the blind bend, and because it is set at exactly the point where drivers always try to get up speed for the hill. This often causes uphill traffic to swing out close to the centre line, while downhill traffic tries to cut into the centre line - hence the many collisions and near collisions, and scenes of downhill vehicles swerving over the road bank.
Why is any road needed at all across the Awaruku Creek conservation area?
Why not bring the road down to the far (northern) side of the present bus depot, and make a land swap to compensate for the reserve area lost using this route? This would create a level junction, and with suitable plantings would be largely out of sight. It would also allow a longitudinal walkway and bike path to go up the Awaruku valley without being interrupted by the road.
The resulting new road might be slightly longer, but the engineering would be easier, safer, and cheaper, the local environmental impact would be less, and there would be cumulative fuel savings for the community as a whole. People might even use the buses more, if the new main road led directly to the nearby bus depot.
Perhaps an entirely different main route could service the new subdivision area (from around Long Bay College?).
Regarding the Proposed Variation 66 and Plan Change 6 to NSC District Plan and Landco's "Refined Alternative Structure Plan".
I hope that the following brief comments can be somehow, somewhere noted.
A proposed new major road is shown branching off from Beach Road at the upper end of an accident-prone blind bend. This bend rises sharply from the city end of Long Bay beach, and at the lower end there is already a T-junction with Long Bay Drive.
The proposal looks like an engineering disaster to me. The new road would have to extend out from a high, steep bank of soft road fill, and would descend sharply into the valley of Awaruku Creek. The steep approaches to the new T-junction would require lights, with traffic stopping and starting with maximum braking effort and minimum fuel efficiency, leading to heavy localised exhaust emissions and noise.
A second set of lights would also be needed at the lower, existing T-junction, which has less of a problem with slope, though it is also dangerous because of its location on the blind bend, and because it is set at exactly the point where drivers always try to get up speed for the hill. This often causes uphill traffic to swing out close to the centre line, while downhill traffic tries to cut into the centre line - hence the many collisions and near collisions, and scenes of downhill vehicles swerving over the road bank.
Why is any road needed at all across the Awaruku Creek conservation area?
Why not bring the road down to the far (northern) side of the present bus depot, and make a land swap to compensate for the reserve area lost using this route? This would create a level junction, and with suitable plantings would be largely out of sight. It would also allow a longitudinal walkway and bike path to go up the Awaruku valley without being interrupted by the road.
The resulting new road might be slightly longer, but the engineering would be easier, safer, and cheaper, the local environmental impact would be less, and there would be cumulative fuel savings for the community as a whole. People might even use the buses more, if the new main road led directly to the nearby bus depot.
Perhaps an entirely different main route could service the new subdivision area (from around Long Bay College?).
posted by Peter Matthews at
4:36 AM
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