Roading Programme For Next 20 Years

Press, Volume CVIII, Issue 31769, 28 August 1968, Page 6

Roading Programme For Next 20 Years

“This is a major milestone,” said the chairman (Mr G. D. Griffiths), when the Christchurch Regional Planning Authority yesterday approved for submission to its member councils an sBom programme to up-grade metropolitan Christchurch roads over the next 20 years to cope with an estimated doubling of the population to 500,000. The scheme is the final version of the master transport plan, in preparation since 1957.

The scheme. Recommended for adoption in five stages, will involve the construction of 16.6 miles of new motorway, 13.2 miles of new arterial roads, 14.3 miles of widened rural arterial roads, 23.4 miles of urban arterial roads, 4.6 miles of new primary roads and 8.3 miles of widened primary roads.

The scheme also envisages the provision of 15,000 more offstreet parking spaces in the central city, to make a total of about 30,000 spaces by the mid-1980s, and improvements or trafficlight control of up to 190 key intersections. The central area would have 10 miles of oneway streets, and up to 100 area - controlled light crossings.

After referring to the ease with which the city’s topography allowed good roads at low cost, the report says that as the city’s population increases towards the halfmillion, the road network must be adapted and expanded to meet new traffic demands and current and future congestion. Using 1959 figures as a base, the report says that from then to 1980 the population should rise from 196,000 to 310,000, and employment from 69,000 to 114,000, with an increase in daily vehicle trips from 210,000 to 508,000. “Without a planned development of the regional road network, congestion by 1980 on the existing street system would result in many streets ceasing to adequately serve their present functions,” the report continues. “A street system is restricted by capacity at key intersections. Moorhouse Avenue is near its ultimate capacity »t critical intersections and Bealey Avenue will be in a similar position by 1970.

“The three motorways proposed to cross the belts would carry as many people and goods to the city centre in 1980 as the total carried by the 27 approach roads in 1963.’’

Expenditure Of sBom Between 1968 and 1980. the report continues, about SBom on the present value of the dollar (and about 60 per cent of which was expected from the National Roads Board) would be spent on roads in the region. Other capital investments in Christchurch over the sama period are likely to ineluda sl6om for new cars. s24om for subdivision snd housing, s4om on drainsge, and s3om on telephone installation. “If completed by 1980, the master transportation plan will save sl4m a year, or 15 per cent on investment. Annually, an average of seven fatalities and 140 accidents, involving $380,000, may well be saved.”

Arterial Roads After dealing with the relief to be expected from the completion of the northern, southern, Fendaiton-Avonside and Opawa motorways, the report deals in detail with arterial road improvements. Fendalton Road-Memorial Avenue is to be developed to serve as an arterial route and combine the functions of urban radial and airport access.

The West Coast Road, Main South Road. Shands Road and the main Akaroa route are all arterial roads with provision for direct access to the Southern Motorway. The Johns-Russley-Carmen-Shands Roads route for airport access from distant towns and rural localities, to provide a by-pass on the west, snd to act as a supplementary ring route. The Main North Road and Harewood-Northcote Roads to collect traffic for the Northern Motorway and provide im-

proved access within these northern areas. The construction of a northerly cross route from Northcote to New Brighton using Travis Road and the development of a new route parallel to the sea coast to serve any future urban extension in north New Brighton and extended towards Brooklands.

Tunnel Road Link

A route linking from Travis Road via Bexley Road to Pages Road and thence via Dyers Road to the Tunnel Road at Ferry Road, to act as the principal method of distribution for this eastern area and serve as a corridor for through traffic between the Tunnel Road, Heathcote, Bromley, New Brighton, Wainoni, North New Brighton and access to the Northern Motorway.

Pages, Aidwins and Ensors roads, together with Woodham Road and Linwood Avenue, to improve distribution within the eastern suburbs and between these suburbs the central city and all other parts of the region. Brougham Street, with its extension to Opawa Road, together with Waltham Road and Ferry Road between Ensors Road and Moorhouse Avenue, to aid the distribution within the south central city areas and to and from the central motorway interchanges. Port Hills Road, Opawa Road widening and improvements including the development of the route as a limited access road with frontage service roads as required, to provide efficient access to the south east of Christchurch and the link to the Port of Lyttelton. Central District

The improvement of central business district access from the motorways and the whole of the upgraded street system using the BarbadoesMadras streets one-way pair on the east, the Montreal-Dur-ham streets one-way pair on the west, including the construction of over-bridges across Moorhouse Avenue at Montreal and Durham streets, the Kilmore-Salisbury streets one-way pair on the north and the St Asaph-Litchfield streets one-way pair on the south. Christchurch road spending has remained constant and at a depressed level pending agreement to the master transport plan, the report continues. Less money has been spent in the district than in any other road district. At $l9 per head, this is less than half the Dominion average. The plan envisages that this will steadily increase,to $22 a head by 1980, but at that, the district would be spending less than the other 20 districts in New Zealand. Northern Completion Stage 1 of the scheme, to be done between now and 1970, allows for completion of the Northern Motorway from Kaiapoi to Pinehaven, six miles. Other major jobs are the Johns Road deviation, the Port Hills Road extension the Tram Road improvements. Stage 2, from 1970 to 1975, plans for the Southern Motorway's first 1.6 miles from Curletts Road to Barrington Street, and the 0.7 miles first stage of the Fendalton Road motorway from Harper Avenue. Main South Road laning from Seymour Street to Halswell Junction Road and four lanes for Curletts Road, Blenheim Road to Motorway, are planned. In Stage 3, to 1980, the Northern Motorway is completed from the Wordsworth Street interchange to St Asaph Street, 0.6 miles, and the 2.5 miles from Bealey Avenue to Winters Road is completed. More work is done to Up-grade the Main South, Northcote, Main, Frosts, Bexley, Travis and Innes Roads. For Stage 4, to 1985, the Northern Motorway goes a mile between Waltham and Bealey Avenue, the Southern Motorway 2,8 miles from Curlews Road to Springs Road, the Avonside Motorway 0.7 miles from Fitzgerald Avenue to Woodham Road and the Opawa Motorway from Ensors Road to Waltham Road, 0.7 miles.

Other major work is done on Halswell Junction, Ellesmere, Yaldhurst, Dyers, Port Hills and Russley roads. Stage 5. after 1990, would see completion of the Southern Motorway between Barrington Street and Waltham, 1,6 miles, the Fendalton Motorway 0.7 miles between Montreal and Madras streets, the completion of the four-mile rural section of the Northern Motorway from Winters Road to Chaneys and the Fendaiton-Avonside highlevel link. The maps on page 7 compare the position today with what is expected at Stage 3 of the programme to end in 1980, with the Northern Motorway completed between Wordsworth Street and St Asaph Street and from Bealey Avenue to Winters Hoad. More arterial roads have been provided by widening, and there is one-way traffic with unit light control in the central grid of streets, traffic directions being indicated by the wedges.