Stop, stop, stop .... at one intersection

Press, 29 June 1982, Page 6

Stop, stop, stop .... at one intersection

Residents near Torrens Road and Hillmorton Street, in Addington,, were nonplussed yesterday when the Waimairi District Council erected two compulsory stop signs at their intersection. Not that there is anything strange about putting in compulsory-stop signs — except that the two erqcted yesterday brings the total for the intersection io four. The intersection is only 18 metres across on the diagonal, and serves roads that are six metres wide. “Who is going to give way to whom when four cars arrive at the same time 9 ” said Mr N. D. O. Sandford, who lives on the corner of Torrens Road and Hillmortoh Street.

"It is just a waste of money.

“Have you ever seen anything so crazy?" "We have to wait for ages down here to get the road or footpath fixed and then they go and put in four signs at the one corner. We would be better off as part of the Riccarton Borough." Mr Sandford said. Mr P. L. Atkinson, the council's traffic engineer, said that the signs had been installed to discourage through traffic on the narrow streets near Sunnyside Hospital. As well as the two signs at the Torrens Road intersection, another two were also erected at either end of Hillmorton Street. Motorists will now have to stop at least twice as they travel down the .200-metre stretch of road. "Hillmorton Street is used extensively by through traffic going to and from Sunnyside Hospital. With the completion of the laundry block at the hospital soon, more traffic would be expected to use the.; street.” Mr Atkinson said.’ : -- “This is a temporary way

to try and improve the environment and we hope we can discourage the traffic. We are looking at more definite ways of regulating the , traffic through the narrow streets." he said. ( Mr Atkinson said that the signs’ could have - been swapped round so that only traffic on Hillmorton Street

would have had to stop, but changing signs was considered "bad practice." . By installing four compulsory stop signs, the intersection reverts to an uncontrolled; crossing. except that all cars have to stop. Motoristsarriving at the intersection simultaneously should observe the right-hand rule