|
The residents of Riccarton would like to have the following changes implemented, as soon as possible, for the safety of all pedestrians on Rotherham Street and, in particular, for the elderly, the disabled and parents with prams: - A raised pedestrian platform connecting the south and north sides of the footpath on the west side of the car park entrance/exit. This platform should be clearly marked on the road with appropriate reflective zigzag marking for vehicles and clearly marked on the footpath by expanding across the width of the footpath the yellow tactile warning paving. - Warning signage should be installed for both drivers and pedestrians, and the current “Pedestrians Give Way to Traffic” signs removed. Painted on the car park road and suspended from a beam above, should be a warning to drivers worded like the two different signs shown here. On both sides of the footpath prior to the raised platform there should be signage for pedestrians.
Unfortunately, it appears that not much thought was given to pedestrians when the resource consent for the car park was given. Not only are the sight lines inadequate around Bed Bath & Beyond for drivers and dangerous for pedestrians heading south on Rotherham Street, but plantings obstruct drivers’ sight lines for north bound pedestrians, thus making this crossing even more hazardous. Drivers approaching the west side entry to the car park from the south have the two columns supporting the ramp above to their left and a sign advertising the car wash, followed by a street light, then a tree and bushes. All of these together are too much and severely obstruct the pedestrians from the drivers view. Most unfortunately, the tree needs to be moved (not cut down), as it is the closest to the car park entry and drivers struggle to see past it to where pedestrians are waiting to cross to the north side of the footpath. It might be wise to remove all plantings on that corner, so that the footpath can be widened slightly and tie in better with the raised platform. If the shrubbery is to remain, it must be kept very low.
We disagree with traffic engineer Steve Dejong’s assessment that a raised platform would give pedestrians a false sense of security and put them more at risk. With adequate and appropriate signage for both drivers and pedestrians, a raised platform to slow entry and exit from the car park, and improved sight lines from the south, we firmly believe that pedestrians will be much safer and the chance of accident and/or injury significantly decreased. Accepting the status quo does not deal with the ongoing problem. As it stands, Earle [Mason] has already been hit once by a car while on his scooter trying to cross this entry/exit area, due to the fact that exiting drivers are little aware that there are pedestrians ahead and Earle is forced to maneuver his scooter out into the line of traffic in order to see what is approaching from inside the car park. All too often, pedestrians from both the north and south, seeing a wee break in the traffic, endeavour to cross only to have a car come whizzing around the corner and nearly knock into them while entering or exiting the car park. I cannot count the number of times this has happened to me and I’ve had to jump back onto the footpath to avoid being hit. Even this morning when the mall was not that busy, we were able to witness many pedestrians finding it difficult to cross from one side of the footpath to the other. It is only a matter of time before someone is seriously injured at this crossing. We would like to do everything in our power to prevent this from happening.
It was encouraging today to have other members of the public join in our conversation and remark about how unsafe this area is and that change is needed. Obviously, it is not just Riccarton residents who have witnessed these problems.
As we have more ideas to add to those above, we would greatly appreciate discussing this matter with all concerned parties before any action is taken or decision made.
|
