Council considers crossings policy

Press, 11 June 1982, Page 10

Council considers crossings policy

Calls for an official pedestrian crossing between the city-centre Canterbury Library and Chancery Lane have prompted the Christchurch City Council to consider a policy on such crossings. The traffic engineer, Mr M. L. Gadd, has told the council's works and traffic committee that he had "serious reservations” about marking such mid-block crossings. Part of the problem was that pedestrians would cross streets where they wanted, anyway. Official crossings at certain points could provide little more than an illusion of safety if traffic did not respect them, or. they occurred in places where crossings were not traditional:

Other parts of the city centre had mid-block pedestrian "desire lines" as strong as the library site. Councillors agreed that it was a complex issue that required further study. The council might construct a footpath “bulge” on the arcade side of Gloucester Street to match the one outside the library building. That would narrow the traffic carriageway, and make it easier for pedestrians to cross the street. Cr Rex Lester said that safe pedestrian crossings helped the elderly, the very young, and the handicapped. More agile people would continue to dodge traffic by crossing streets in many places between controlled intersections.

Traffic engineers have not ruled out a library pedestrian crossing, but they want such a crossing to mesh with possible nearby intersection changes where Gloucester Street intersects Oxford Terrace. Accidents and peak-hour confusion among motorists at the intersection have concerned engineers. Traffic-sig-nal control would be one way to encourage the use of Gloucester Street as a secondary road. Councillors said that approval of a pedestrian crossing to the library could encourage applications for similar crossings at other heavily used mid-block areas, such as between Strand Lane and Whitcoulls in Hereford Street.