Transport projects aim to ease impact of motorway extension

Christchurch City Council is seeking public feedback on an initial package of transport projects to help ease the effects of the Christchurch Northern Corridor (CNC) opening.

The CNC is due to open in the middle of next year and will make travel times in and out of northern Christchurch shorter. However, it is likely to lead to more traffic using Cranford Street and some of the surrounding streets.

More traffic is likely to use Cranford Street when the Christchurch Northern Corridor opens next year.

To help reduce the impacts of that extra traffic and to ensure the safety of all road users, the Council proposes to:

• Introduce a clearway on Cranford Street, from Innes Road to Bealey Avenue, between 7 and 9am, heading into the city.
• Introduce a clearway on Cranford Street, from Berwick Street to Innes Road, beween 3.30 and 7pm, heading north.
• Upgrade all the intersections along Cranford/Sherborne streets.
• Introduce traffic calming measures and no turning restrictions on a number of streets that run off Cranford Street/Sherborne Street to deter people from short-cutting through residential neighbourhoods.
• Introduce a 40kmh zone on residential roads between Rutland Street, Springfield Road and Durham Street North in the west, Hills Road in the east, Walter Park in the north, and Bealey Avenue in the south.
• Improve the cycle network in the area by providing painted cycle lanes on some roads and greenways on quiet residential streets where cyclists share the road with residential traffic. Two north-south cycle routes are also proposed along with east-west connections that also link to the Papanui Parallel cycleway.
• Install traffic lights outside English Park to make it easy for people to access the park and St Albans School.
• Install traffic lights at the intersections of Warrington/Forfar and Warrington/Barbadoes streets.
• Install pedestrian crossing islands between intersections to allow people to safely get across Innes Road, Westminster Street, Sherborne Street, Forfar Street and Barbadoes Street.

Find out more at Have Your Say.

“We have had a massive amount of community input into how we mitigate the effects of the opening of the CNC and what needs to be done to retain the sense of community and ensure the safety of those walking, biking and accessing local schools and parks in the area,’’ says Council Transport Planning and Delivery Manager Lynette Ellis.

“This initial package of transport projects, which we want to complete before the CNC opens, is all about keeping people safe and deterring people from short-cutting through the area,’’ Ms Ellis says.

“We have taken on board the community’s feedback that we need to work to reduce the amount of traffic on the roads. We are working with the NZ Transport Agency, the Waimakariri District Council, and Environment Canterbury on a number of projects, including park and ride facilities, additional bus services and a high-occupancy vehicle lane.

“These projects are not part of the initial package of works we’re proposing in the St Albans, Edgeware and Mairehau areas, but they are part of the big picture approach,’’ Ms Ellis says. “We have also designed the initial package of work to allow for bus or car-pooling lanes to be added in when this work is complete.”

The public have until Monday 16 August to give their feedback on the initial package of roading projects. A final decision on whether to proceed with the projects will be made by the Council later this year.