Whakatāne roundabout projects (x2)

The roundabout at the Arawa Rd / Bridge St needed a design that accommodated their over-dimension vehicle route and fitted with their Active Whakatane Strategy objective of helping people to get around safely no matter how they travel (drive, walk, scoot and cycle). It also required us to work with the client's stormwater unit to find a solution that would accommodate their current and future infrastructure.

The new roundabout at McGarvey Rd and Peace St is constrained by existing homes and businesses. ViaStrada considered a smaller roundabout but determined the best way to slow traffic to a safer speed is with raised platforms across each leg. These platforms with vertical deflection provide safer crossings for locals, school children and people visiting the Dairy. We performed a safe system assessment of the existing priority-controlled intersection versus the roundabout, with and without the vertical deflection of the raised platforms. The assessment was clear that a design using raised safety platforms to achieve vertical deflection was the most a safe system aligned outcome.