Squeaky Wheel & NZTA (Highways & Network Operations (HNO) ( ex "Transit")
Squeaky Wheel & NZTA (Highways & Network Operations (HNO) ( ex "Transit")
Had a chat with Colin Hey about why there has been no response from HNO to Squeaky Wheel's letter (see attached) sent in July 08.
He asked me to resend it which I will do.
Colin suggested it would be easiest for NZTA to meet with Squeaky Wheel when they are meeting with Timaru District Council. HNO meet with Road Transport Authority (RTA) a couple of times a year. He was concerned that he would have to meet with SW everytime he was in Timaru which is about every 3-4 weeks. I assured him SW did not have time for that. So, that is similar to Spokes Canterbury, and then have meetings on a as needed basis if some specific project comes up.
Reminded Colin that HNO are required to consider cyclists and pedestrian needs in every roading project. And that SW would be useful way of doing that.
Colin cycles to work daily and does abit of MTBing. He said he has advocated for cycling in projects. He is personally interested in the Washdyke to Fairlie along embankments proposal apparently in the letters to the editor today.
Opus are the Consultants that do the work for Transit.
Re the Hobb Street Traffic Signals the design was done by Urbis (spelling?, an independant consultant Ray Edwards based in Ashburton) . And Opus built it. It was peer reviewed by Tony Spowart (then Transit now HNO). The Developer had a lot of say in what was done (Super Cheap Auto). I am not sure of the legitimacy of that as the lights are on Public Land, so I understood that the TDC would have ultimate say, and HNO for the State Highway part. I told Colin about the concern that the intersection had been made more dangerous for cyclists and suggested there may be something that can be done to make it safer, it would involve getting together to discuss. He was amenable to that.
Colin Hey
(03) 366 4455 (General Office)
021 883 807 (cell phone)
| Attachment | Size |
|---|---|
| Squeaky Wheel Letter to Transit Colin Hey July 08.doc | 232 KB |
| SqueakyWheel Letter from Transit HNO 03-06-09-1.pdf | 668.88 KB |
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Comments
Have Squeaky Wheel replied to "Transit"
Hey just wondering what sort of response SW gave to NZTA Highways and Networks Operation (HN0)about meetings.
And more importantly what sort of reply did we get?
Now the NLTP (with no suprises) is out, and the expected emphasis on State Highways projects, any work on those is HNO responsibility. I think SW needs a project to campaign around and making the Washdyke to Timary CBD safe cycleable looks like a good one from my seat in the bus. It is so do-able!
Good idea to have
Good idea to have six-monthly meetings with NZTA HNO (we must get these back on track for Spokes Canty...).
Note that Opus is only the network management consultant for the Sth Canty SH network, i.e. they will look after the day-to-day stuff like maintenance and minor works. Particularly relevant if you are dealing with cycling retrofit issues e.g. pavement markings and pinch-point treatments. However other consultants may be appointed to design other major projects, e.g. intersections, realignments, etc. They should be instructed by NZTA to make contact with CAN and/or SW as part of feedback on any project designs. But the track record is patchy depending on (a) which consultant it is, (b) whether NZTA specifically mentioned this in their brief (I think it's standard now), and (c) whether someone thinks that cyclists could be affected.
The latter is a past problem, where cyclists have only been consulted on projects with an obvious cycling component (e.g. cycle lanes), but not for more "general" projects (e.g. intersection "upgrade"). We've even had the case in Chch where NZTA/consultants felt that their discussions with Chch CC constituted sufficient feedback on cycling issues! The message to get to NZTA is that we should be approached in regard to ALL projects, even if they don't think there's relevance or issues for cycling. Let us make that call!