Let's Go: Your Way - revised designs

Based on direction from our Mayor and Councillors and community feedback, we have made some design changes to the South Road/Devon Street West (SH45) project. We are seeking your feedback on these. 

This is the outcome of the resolution by our Mayor and Councillors on 15 September, directing council officers to review the design and, if time allowed, take these back out for consultation. Improvements on this route would make the biggest impact on improving safety for all users, as it services six schools and has a high crash rate with 29 incidents over the past 10 years involving walking or cycling. It would encourage cycling uptake and can be delivered within the funding available.

These projects are not officially out of consideration. When the Council meet in December the Mayor and Councillors will consider feedback already received on these and the revised designs, to decide which, if any, of these projects they want staff to present to Waka Kotahi for funding consideration.  

We've listened to feedback received and designed a range of options to reintroduce as many car parks as we can near businesses, while meeting safe roading standards. We are proposing to have fewer in-lane bus stops and provided an option with a section of two-way cycle lanes. All options would make traffic lanes wider. Find out more about each design.  

The 12-month extension for the wider project was to give us more time to procure materials and construct the infrastructure, however we only have until 7 December to present a preferred design to Waka Kotahi for funding consideration.

Our Mayor and Councillors will make a decision about which, if any, projects will be put forward to Waka Kotahi for a final decision on whether to fund them.

Option one and two will see 246 car parks lost, 17 fewer than the original proposal. Option three will see 210 car parks lost, 53 less than previously proposed.

This is Government funding that can only be used for transport projects that help to reduce emissions.

Our analysis suggests they won't cause significant delays drivers as buses do not stop at every bus stop, or for very long. Our analysis considered traffic volumes, passenger volumes and wait times.

Yes. A cycling demand analysis has been completed which indicates that if we introduced a design based on best practice, we could expect to see between 260 to 520 more people cycling each day.

They don’t provide any physical protection for cyclists, so when drivers or cyclists make a mistake, the outcome can be more severe. More people would be likely to cycle if they felt safer to do so.

A dedicated lane with a concrete barrier that is around 100mm high and separates cyclists from traffic, enhancing their safety. 

Also known as also known as a bi-directional cycle lane, these are on one side of the road only and allows people to cycle in both directions.

This is where a bus stops within a traffic lane instead of pulling over into a dedicated bus stop and then rejoining traffic. While these would be new to New Plymouth, they are common in many of the larger centres across New Zealand.

A slightly raised crossing designed to slow approaching vehicles to around 30k/h, making it safer for pedestrians, cyclists and mobility device users crossing the road. At 30km/h drivers have more time to react and avoid incidents. 

Yes. The openings in the separators at driveways will be quite long, giving drivers a space to pull into when emergency vehicles pass. There will also be extended gaps between parked cars either side of driveways that people can pull into.

For much of South Road/Devon Street West the hills make a two-way cycleway dangerous for cars and cyclists. Cyclists could gain too much speed going in the opposite direction to traffic and additional infrastructure, including more raised crossings, would need to be built to comply with Waka Kotahi NZTA requirements. See more at Cycling network guidance - Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Agency.