Several roundabouts planned

Press, 23 August 1984, Page 8

Several roundabouts planned

A roundabout to be built next year at the Linwood Avenue-Dyers Road intersection should make the accident-prone crossing safer. The crossing was described by the Coroner, Mr A. N. McLean, on Tuesday as one of the most dangerous intersections in the city. Mr Brian Neill, a Christchurch City Council traffic engineer, said yesterday that intersection improvements there had been a

priority for some years. The eastern side of the Dyers Road approach to the intersection had to be realigned in a way that would mean the roundabout did not have to be shifted in the future when a four-lane expressway passed through the crossing. A compromise had been reached, but it still relied on some land to be acquired. Roundabouts have proved successful in other parts of the city, and the City Council has a list of them that

will be started soon. One will be built at the intersection of Hereford Street and Stanmore Road, which has had a very high accident record in recent years. Another will be built at the intersection of Avondale Road, New Brighton Road and Bassett Street. Roundabout construction is already under way at the intersection of Linwood Avenue and Gloucester Street. City Council accident re-

cords show that the Linwood Avenue-Dyers Road crossing had two injury accidents in 1980, five in 1981, three in 1982, and five in 1983.

Records are not up to date for this year. The Coroner’s remark concerned a fatal accident at the crossing in May. Mr Neill said that roundabouts seemed to reduce direct traffic conflicts, but accidents could increase as traffic built up at roundabout intersections. That

traffic build-up had to be taken into account when considering accident statistics.

“We feel that roundabouts are safer, but it is difficult to prove,” said Mr Neill. “They at least deflect traffic so that it cannot go straight through.” Other planned roundabout projects will be a rebuilding of the one at the Avon River bridge approach to New Brighton, and at the Hawke Street-Shaw Avenue intersection in New Brighton.