LOOK AHEAD ON ROADING

Press, Volume CVI, Issue 31088, 17 June 1966, Page 28 (Supplement)

LOOK AHEAD ON ROADING

By 1980, it is expected that the population of metropolitan Christchurch will have grown to 311,000, with a doubling of the number of motor vehicles to a total of 144,000.

What this is going to mean to the city’ has been put on paper in the master transportation plan which if not yet completely accepted by the local bodies concerned, has enough agreement to clearly show the revolutionary’ changes that will take place in the city’s traffic patterns.

The plan, superimposed on a map of the city, is dominated by the reversed L of the northern and southern motorways, the one coming in from Chaneys to pass through St. Albans, skirt the heart of the city and join the southern motorway terminus at Waltham, then continuing via Addington and Middleton to Weedons. Gridding across and up and down the city is a network of connecting and intersecting roads and highways that, the experts say, will be essential to relieve traffic chaos that would otherwise occur. The figures which formed the basis of this major and minor reading network development were taken on actual traffic counts, taken in 1959, and related to the prospective growth of traffic of various types. Comparisons of 1959 actual traffic and projected 1980 traffic, selected at random from the master transportation plan, show this picture.

west, but an outer urbar ring route. In and around the city centre, where congestion now exists, the plan provides for a motorway from Feudal tor road and Harper avenue, across the north-east corner of Hagley park and thence across the city. Linked with this will be improvements in the Antigua and Durham streets area, with Moorhouse avenue overbridges and access from the motorways in to the central business area, and improvement of selected streets in the central area. The northern motorway Is designed to give relief to Papanui road and Cranford street, and at the Papanui road-Bealey avenue intersection; to give quick access to the city centre and beyond for traffic from the north: to get through traffic out of the city centre; and to minimise the disturbance of existing and proposed development. Main factor affecting the location of the southern motorway is the need to give relief to Lincoln road, Blenheim road and Riccarton road. While the City Council has agreed to the controversial road across Hagley park as VEHICLES PER DAY

The backbone of the plan is the northern and southern motorway. Opawa road and Port Hills road provide the link with Tunnel road. Fendalton road is seen as a major route for urban, radial and airport access. Access has to be given to the southern motorway from the West Coast road, the Main South road, Shands road and the main Akaroa road, and another important access road will be the Johns-Russley-Carmen and Shands road link, providing not only a by-pass to the

part of the FendaltonAvonside motorway, the position on the widening of Fendalton road is not yet clear, as the Waimairi County Council has gonei only part-way to full agreement. The planners justify the need for this motorway as giving relief from congestion at the Carlton Mill bridge junction and the Papanui road-Bealey avenue intersection. In addition, the road is regarded as the potential main gateway to the city.

1959 1980 Fendalton road 7.000 21.000 West Coast road, Yaldhurst 1.750 4,500 Main South road, Hornby .. 4.000 21,500 Riccarton road, Hagley Park 12,950 16,750 Colombo st., Moorhouse ave. 11,000 32,750 Papanui road, Bealey avenue 13.550 23,250 Pages road 5,700 13,750 Opawa road 3.600 14,500 Lincoln road 9,550 23,500 Cranford street 3.300 19,750 Blenheim road, Hagley avenue 8,950 38,000