Projects

The purpose of this review was to identify whether the integrity of the original proposal for three off-road cycle paths from Waitakere City Council (one of the 7 councils in the Auckland region), as reviewed and approved by Infrastructure Auckland, had been retained in the current tender drawings. ARTA also required advice on whether it should approve construction for the Lower Waikumete Path, the Oratia Stream Path, and the Lower Opanuku Path.

Life is so much easier when you can work with a great team of dedicated and professional people. Such was the case with this project. For Northlands Mall, we were commissioned to explore access options and designs through to obtaining Resource Consent from the City Council.

The Little River Rail Trail is planned to extend from Hornby (Christchurch) to Little River on Banks Peninsula. ViaStrada undertook this investigation into the feasibility of providing a rail trail from Hornby to Prebbleton as part of the Christchurch – Little River Rail Trail.

Christchurch City Council has ambitious plans for bus priority. In 2006 ViaStrada (Traffix) was engaged to design bus priority measures for the #70 Queenspark corridor (Gloucester Street, Fitzgerald Avenue, Whitmore Street, Hills Road, Shirley Road, New Brighton Road, Bower Avenue, Queenspark Drive and Broadhaven Avenue).

ViaStrada has been subcontracted by Urbis Traffic Planning and Development Ltd to assist with gaining NZTA approval for site access to the 32ha Five Mile development from SH6. The Five Mile subdivision in Frankton is creating a second urban centre for Queenstown. The task is to develop several intersection scheme plans for the adjacent SH 6 including associated road network modelling. The development is so big that the developer Property Ventures Ltd thinks that every South Island consultancy will at some stage have been involved.

Background

The Signals NZ User Group (SNUG) has been working with RCAs to have their traffic signals audited to ensure:

• Uniformity of design & appearance throughout NZ,
• Operational safety & efficiency, and
• Compliance with NZ & Austroads standards.

As a consequence of this, several NZ local authorities have commissioned traffic signal audits. Warren and Axel have contributed to five RCA traffic signal audits to date.

Below is part of the executive summary from such an audit report.

The study provides an analysis of the existing traffic environment and makes recommendations on appropriate remedial measures where necessary. The study has been conducted in the context of Local Area Traffic Management (LATM), which is supported by a number of Council strategies and the legal strategic framework of the City Plan.

The City Council requested that an investigation be conducted into the possible conversion of part of Chester Street West to a one-way street. The study examined the advantages, disadvantages and operational issues associated with this concept.

This project required a consultant experienced in dealing with the sensitivities surrounding a possible major change to traffic flow patterms.

Within the 4 Avenues (Central City) of Christchurch there are a considerable number of loading zones and short term parking restrictions. The City Council receives numerous requests for new loading zones, removal and alterations to existing loading zones. A comprehensive review was required so that the Council can make informed decisions.

The section of Sparks Road between Halswell Road and Hendersons Road has been the subject of concerns raised by local residents. These concerns relate to the perceived high volume of heavy vehicles, the perceived excessive speed of vehicles and the overall level of safety of the road and specifically the level of safety at the Milnes Road intersection.