All planned, new, or upgraded transport facilities should be assessed for the potential safety impacts that the changes may have on various road users, particularly where there is the chance of death or serious injury.
ViaStrada staff are formally trained in road safety & accessibility audits, safe system assessments, and Level Crossing Safety Impact Assessments (LCSIAs). We can also review the safety effects of other changes to transport networks.
The Christchurch City Council receives occasional comments about tram tracks causing problems for people on bikes. A small number of crashes are recorded in the CAS (Crash Analysis System, the Police’s crash database), but the Council suspected this does not represent the full extent of the problem, since most incidents would not involve motor vehicles and are unlikely to be reported to the Police. Thus, CCC employed ViaStrada to dig deeper.
ViaStrada was commissioned to conduct safety audits of the uni-directional separated cycleway pair on the one-way system in central Dunedin, on State Highway 1 between Pine Hill and Rattray Street. For the scheme stage, ViaStrada identified traffic signal level of service issues that could affect compliance and safety. A combined team of ViaStrada and NZTA safety engineering staff were brought back for detailed design and post-construction safety audits a year later.
PNCC engaged ViaStrada to undertake scheme and detail design stage road safety audits of a number of roundabout upgrades at city intersections. All projects required the preparation of a road safety audit report in accordance with the NZTA Road Safety Audit Procedures for Projects (May 2013). The safety of all road users and pedestrians were key considerations.
ViaStrada was engaged by Christchurch City Council to carry out a scheme design safety audit of a proposed signalised intersection on Marshland Road. ViaStrada prepared a scheme stage safety audit of the proposed signalisation of the Marshland / Lower Styx / Hawkins intersection. Marshland Road is a minor arterial with a 70 km/h speed environment.
ViaStrada was engaged by Rotorua Lakes Council (RLC) to undertake a detail design stage road safety audit of the proposed shared use path on Ranolf Street between Arawa Street and Sophia Street. The audit covered the proposed cycle facilities on Ranolf Street between Sophia Street and Devon Street and the shared use path that runs on the east side of Ranolf Street between Devon Street and Arawa Street.
ViaStrada was commissioned by Christchurch City Council to undertake a detail design stage road safety audit of interim works at the Bealey Avenue / Madras Street signalised intersection. ViaStrada prepared a NZ Transport Agency-compliant detail design stage road safety audit of the proposed interim changes at this major city intersection ahead of a planned reseal. Bealey Avenue has an AADT of 38,000 (2011).
ViaStrada has been commissioned by Napier City Council (NCC) to conduct a post construction assessment that takes into account usability and safety for all pathway and road users, from the cyclist ‘target audience’ point of view. There are two paths audited in this report, the Westminster Avenue path and the Marewa path largely following urban drainage channels.
The audits included riding 7.7 km of new pathways and reviewing the safety and accessibility of numerous road crossings.
ViaStrada was commissioned by Christchurch City Council to undertake a scheme stage and detail design stage road safety audit of a proposed signalised intersection on Halswell Road (an arterial road), Augustine Drive and a new road. ViaStrada prepared a NZ Transport Agency-compliant road safety audit of the proposed signalised intersection. The intersection includes pedestrian and cycle crossing facilities.
ViaStrada was engaged by Christchurch City Council to undertake a post construction safety audit of Halswell Junction Road between Murphys Road and Mcteigue Road in Halswell, Christchurch. ViaStrada prepared a NZ Transport Agency-compliant post construction road safety audit of a section of Halswell Junction Road adjacent to large new residential developments that featured several intersections and a multi-lane roundabout.
Palmerston North City Council (PNCC) engaged ViaStrada to undertake post construction road safety audits of a number of recently completed roundabout upgrades at city intersections. All projects required the preparation of a post construction road safety audit report in accordance with the NZTA Road Safety Audit Procedures for Projects (May 2013). This includes a day and night time site visit.
