Lyttelton Traffic

Press, Volume CIII, Issue 30588, 3 November 1964, Page 12

Lyttelton Traffic

Most persons who have occasion to visit Lyttelton by road will probably share the misgivings of the Road Tunnel Authority about the adequacy of plans for roads and parking space. Congestion at the Lyttelton approaches to the tunnel is already serious at peak periods, but traffic through the road tunnel might easily be doubled after 1967, when the port extensions are completed and when more road access to shipside is provided. In spite of the assurance of the Deputy-Mayor of Lyttelton (Cr. R. H. Duff) that the Lyttelton Borough Council is “well aware “ of its responsibilities ”, the council’s current plans for road improvement appear quite inadequate. The full benefits from the tunnel and from the harbour extensions will not be realised unless traffic can move freely through the tunnel to transit sheds, wharves, and parking areas.

An ambitious street-widening and car-parking programme should have been begun in Lyttelton before now. The suspicion that the Lyttelton Borough Council s vision is not wide enough to embrace such a project is strengthened by the council’s refusal to take advantage of the specialist services of the Regional Planning Authority. The council should critically re-examine, even at this late stage, its plans for handling the road traffic of 1967 and later years, for mistakes made now will be much more expensive to rectify later.