She says . . .

Press, 17 April 1980, Page 23

She says . . .

Yet again I’m moved to complain about the lack of advance warning for roadworks in the city. And again, the particular works Which have brought the matter up occured on one of the one-way streets — just the streets where special attention should be given to advance warnings.

The particular works I have in mind .were being done in Madras Street and for a considerable time they completely blocked one lane of the street. Yet apart from a “road works” notice which spent nearly all its time lying facedown on the road, there was no advance warning of the works at all. The result of this was

predictable. Traffic in the left lane would screech to a halt, as often as not those well back into the line having to brake really hard as the traffic stopped, unexpectedly, ahead of them. Our contractors and Ministry men need to take a look at the sort of advance warning given overseas. Usually, on a busy, fast, road such as our laned one-way streets, warning signs would start a couple' of hundred metres back, at least. Because two lanes would obviously have -to squeeze into one, it would be normal to put .down' a long, slanting line of rubber cones to guide , leftlane traffic into merging with that in the other lane I’ve seen other examples since then, but • this was the worst recent one. Road-works marking In Christchurch city, and outside it, is generally sloppy and badly .policed. It’s time the authorities woke up and did their job. — Barbara Petre.