Closure at the intersection of Salisbury and Mulgrave Streets

Mulgrave Street closure complete

The closure of Mulgrave Street at the intersection with Salisbury Street is now complete.

This closure will provide significant safety benefits in this area by removing the right turn bay and providing additional space for traffic to traverse this corner.

Unfortunately we have had feedback that drivers have been ignoring the new road layout and continue to drive over the grass berm.

A fence has been constructed to discourage this type of activity and  landscaping will also be planted in April.

Landscaping at all of the treatment areas will be completed from April as this is the optimum planting time.

The Terrace closure looking north along the Saddle Road

The Terrace Closure

The closure of the right turn into The Terrace from the Saddle Road is now complete. These works involved closing the entry/exit between The Terrace and the Saddle Road. The one-way northbound access from Salisbury Street has remained.

The reason for the closure was due to the safety issues with large vehicles entering/exiting The Terrace to/from the Saddle Road which was reinforced in feedback from residents. Trucks turning off the Saddle Road into The Terrace often required hill starts and three-point turns causing safety and noise issues.

Unfortunately we have had feedback that drivers have not been following the new road layout and are attempting to exit The Terrace via the one way system. These behaviours are illegal and unsafe.

Wyndham Street Upgrade

The first stage of the Wyndham Street upgrade was completed prior to Christmas with the removal of the grass berms and widening of the road.

The next stage which includes the kerb build outs, traffic islands and new asphalt road seal will be completed in the coming weeks.

The new seal will provide some noise reduction whilst the kerb build outs and traffic islands will provide a visual cue and narrowing effect to slow vehicle speeds and provide safer pedestrian crossing facilities.

Cambridge Ave/Mulgrave St Intersection

The NZ Transport Agency is committed to providing the best solution at the intersection of Cambridge Avenue and Mulgrave Street.

The conversion of the roundabout to traffic lights is proving complex due to the amount of services/utilities that exist in the proximity of the roundabout. It could take between 6-12 months to move services before the traffic lights can installed. 

We recognise there are problems with the current roundabout which require a solution in the short term.

Therefore, we are taking a staged approach whereby alterations will be made to the existing roundabout to better provide for the vehicle movements.

It is anticipated that these changes will improve noise levels. We are currently undertaking noise monitoring in this area and further noise monitoring will be undertaken following the small changes to the roundabout.

We will continue to work on the design for the proposed traffic lights and we will develop a plan to undertake the required service relocation. Further consultation regarding the proposed traffic lights will occur later this year.

We understand that any potential changes to this intersection may have significant effects so it is important we get this right. If you would like to see the proposed plans, discuss this new approach or have any feedback then please do come along to our upcoming public open day on the 21 March, further details are provided below.

Ashhurst Village Centre

What else is happening?

In addition to the proposed changes to the roundabout there are several other packages of work that you will see us start on in the very near future. These include:

• New threshold signs will be installed on the Saddle Road lower river terrace. This will indicate to people the upcoming 50km speed limit and that they are entering a residential environment. This should encourage vehicles to travel at the 50km speed limit when they enter Ashhurst.
• The Town Centre improvements are proposed to commence in late April this year. This is to discourage people from using Wyndham, Lincoln, Worcester and Bamfield Streets as rat runs and to generally slow traffic speeds in the centre of the village, particularly in front of the school.

Plans for the above treatments will be available at our Open Day on the 21 March.

Upcoming Public Open Day - 21 March 2019

We are holding a public information session for this project in Ashhurst at the Ashhurst Village Valley Centre from 4.00pm-7.00pm on 21 March 2019. We would like to see as many people there as possible.

In this session we will provide a more detailed update on the mitigation package. This will include more detailed plans for the mitigation measures that will start construction in the next few months. We will also provide a programme for the next stage of works so you can understand when the works will be happening near you.

This Public Open Day is specifically for the Ashhurst Traffic Mitigation Project and not the Te Ahu a Turanga: Manawatū Tararua Highway project.

If you can’t make this session but have questions or would like to provide feedback, the plans will be available on our website just prior to the consultation and feedback can be sent to ashhurst@nzta.govt.nz

More information

For more information on Ashhurst traffic mitigation, contact us at ashhurst@nzta.govt.nz

Visit our website www.nzta.govt.nz/ashhurst