SH75 Halswell Road improvements design finalised

Since we were last in contact, we have been working through the detail of the safety features and improvements we have planned for SH75 Halswell Road (between Dunbars Road and Curletts Road) which we would like to share with you.

These improvements will provide more travel choices along this stretch of Halswell Road. Bus lanes will increase bus reliability and improve bus journey times. Off-road paths will make it safer for people walking, cycling or scooting while on-road improvements will make it safer for everyone travelling along this stretch of Halswell Road.

A key consideration in the design of the project is to provide safe and better access and connections across and along Halswell Road for the surrounding communities. This, together with feedback from the community and safety assessments, has led us to make some additions to the design which you can read about below.

We have updated the project webpage including a plan showing the location of safety features and improvements.

Bus lanes operating hours, bus stops and shelters

Cyclists, who would like to cycle on-road, will be able to use the wide (4.2m) bus lanes, which will operate in both directions.

Operating hours and on-street parking
Following feedback from the community we changed the weekday operating hours of the bus lanes between Augustine Drive/Monsaraz Boulevard and Curletts Road from full time to be consistent with the hours of operation for the bus lanes along Lincoln Road:

• Monday to Friday heading into the city (north side of the road) during the morning peak: from 7am to 9am
• Monday to Friday heading towards Halswell (south side of the road) during the late afternoon/evening peak: from 3pm to 6pm

In addition, these lanes will also operate on Saturdays from 10am to 2pm to take account of congestion resulting from Saturday sports traffic.

The community was also concerned about the removal of on-street parking. Outside of operating hours, these bus lanes (between Augustine Drive/Monsaraz Boulevard and Curletts Road) can be used for on-street parking.

The bus lanes between Augustine Drive/Monsaraz Boulevard and Dunbars Road will operate full time (24/7) in both directions.

Bus stop locations and shelters
We’ve reviewed the number, spacing and location of the bus stops along this stretch of SH75 Halswell Road to provide the best service possible.

The types of things we considered when planning the bus stops include:

• more evenly spaced stops – about 400m apart, not too close together that journey times are affected, and not so far apart that they are too far to walk to
• close to sideroads so they are easy to get to from the surrounding area
• close to places people want to go to such as Ngā Puna Wai Sports Hub
• located near pedestrian crossings to help people, who need to cross the road, to get to and from the bus stop

All bus stops will have a seat, all city bound stops and some Halswell bound stops will have shelters, and some will have Real Time Information (providing accurate information about bus arrival times).

Shelters will have automatic solar powered lighting triggered when someone is using the shelter, making it safer and more pleasant for people travelling early or later in the day, especially during winter.

Our project web page has more information about the bus lanes, operating hours, bus stop locations and shelters.

Below is an illustration of the proposed bus shelters (single length). 

Raised median and u-turn locations

Finding a gap in the traffic to turn right from properties and streets is increasingly challenging and dangerous along Halswell Road.

A 1m wide raised median between Dunbars and Curletts Road will improve safety by removing right-turns thereby reducing the risk of crashes when drivers exit driveways and side streets.

There will be left-turn only in and out of Halswell Road at:

• Tankerville Road
• Kinnaird Place
• Warren Crescent (east)
• Cardinal Drive
• Hendersons Road

There will be specific u-turn locations at these intersections with new traffic lights which will include a specific light for u-turns:

• Rowley Avenue heading toward Halswell
• Warren Crescent (west) heading toward the city

There will also be dedicated u-turn facilities: 

• prior to the Halswell Road/Curletts Road/Hoon Hay Road intersection (for heading toward the city)
• prior to the Halswell Road/Monsaraz Boulevard/Augustine Drive intersection (for heading toward Halswell).

Halswell Timber will have a dedicated right turn bay.

New intersections, a raised safety platform and a raised pedestrian crossing

Intersections
The new intersections at Rowley Avenue and Warren Crescent (west) will have traffic lights and pedestrian crossings improving safety for people walking, scooting and cycling.

The intersection at Aidanfield Drive will become a four-legged intersection with traffic lights, pedestrian crossings and a raised safety platform (see more about raised safety platforms below). It will form part of a wider future commercial development on the southern side of Halswell Road.

Already within the wider Aidanfield area there are schools, a retirement village, sport facilities, and a disability health services facility. Together with development likely to occur further down Halswell Road, there will be an increase in people travelling to and through this area and crossing at the intersection.

The raised safety platform will make it safer for everyone whether they’re walking, scooting, cycling or driving.

Raised safety platforms
Raised safety platforms are elevated sections of road with a slight ramp designed to lower speeds while minimising driver and passenger discomfort.

They are being used increasingly across the country and around the world to improve the safety of everyone using the road.

What do raised safety platforms do:

• help to make pedestrians more visible to drivers (which is particularly helpful where there are older or younger pedestrians or pedestrians with mobility issues)
• aim to slow drivers down as they approach and leave an intersection making it safer for people crossing the road
• are designed so that vehicle speeds are slow enough that there is enough time for people to react to avoid a crash and to reduce potential injuries if a crash happens
• can reduce deaths and serious injuries by up to 40%.

You can find out more about the effectiveness of Christchurch City Council’s raised safety platform down the road at the Lincoln/Barrington/Whiteleigh intersection by reading the Council’s newsline article.

Pedestrian crossing near Tankerville Road
This pedestrian crossing, to the east of Tankerville Road is close to bus stops and will become a raised pedestrian crossing with traffic lights.

Like the raised safety platforms, raised crossings make pedestrians more visible to drivers, and will slow drivers down as they approach the crossing making it safer for students and staff at Hillmorton High School and residents to cross Halswell Road.

Below is an example of a raised safety platform in Dunedin.

Paths

We want to provide choices for residents and people wanting to travel along Halswell Road.

Between Augustine Drive/Monsaraz Boulevard and Dunbars Road there will be a 3m wide shared path on both sides of the road for people walking, scooting or cycling.

In response to community feedback there will be a two-way cycle path on the northern side of Halswell Road, between Curletts Road and Augustine Drive in addition to the existing footpath.

This will give cyclists the choice of cycling off the road as well as on the bus lanes.

Trees

We have worked to keep as many trees as possible while still providing the necessary space for infrastructure and features.

The addition of the two-way cycle path on the northern side of Halswell Road between Curletts Road and Augustine Drive and a better understanding of the utility services we will need to install under the road have meant the removal of more trees than we originally thought.

We’ll be replacing each tree that has to be removed with two new trees, more than we originally advised. These will be planted in locations along the project area.

You can read more about what we consider when selecting new trees and deciding where to plant them on the project web page.

Timing

We are currently tendering for the construction work. We expect to appoint a contractor in early 2024 and for construction to start soon after that.

We’ll better understand the construction schedule when the contractor is appointed and will update you when we have more information.

Ngā mihi (Kind regards)

SH75 Halswell Road Project Team

More information

For more information on the SH75 Halswell Road improvements project visit our project web page

Or, email the project team at Halswell.Road@nzta.govt.nz