Transportation engineering

The Christchurch City Council now has a record of all the markings and signs on the Peninsula. All traffic control devices requiring a Council resolution have now gone through the correct legislative process. The signs and markings are scheduled in the RAMM database with the respective resolution. The signs were photographed and the condition noted for the maintenance team.

As part of the Westfield expansion of Riccarton Mall, the intersection of Clarence Street and Dilworth Street was converted from a give way intersection to traffic signals. ViaStrada was commissioned by Westfield to design the new layout, undertake the community consultation and prepare final design plans for construction. Finalising the layout required working closely with the Christchurch City Council, the traffic signals contractor and the client. The new intersection with traffic signals was constructed in June 2009.

ViaStrada undertook and analysed counts of cycle traffic on the two existing sections of the Little River Rail Trail - between Prebbleton (on the south-western edge of Christchurch) and Lincoln; and between Motukarara and Little River (on Banks Peninsula, halfway to Akaroa). This was done on behalf of the Christchurch City and Selwyn District councils. 

We estimated the yearly use of the Birchs Road site to be 42,700 cyclists. For the Motukarara to Little River section of the rail trail the annual use was estimated to be 10,200 cyclists.

ViaStrada was engaged by Christchurch City Council to undertake the scheme design of the Hornby to Prebbleton part of the Christchurch to Little River Rail Trail. This followed on from our office undertaking the feasibility study for this section.

Jeanette, Megan and Andrew have recently undertaken feasibility assessments of seven walking and cycling infrastructure projects for Selwyn District Council. The projects included six shared off-road paths and opportunities to improve the Leeston Road bridge. We developed scheme plans for each of the projects and used these to estimate costs of construction and maintenance. We also predicted the demand for the facilities and calculated the value of expected benefits.

ViaStrada has reviewed a controversial cycle facility for Christchurch City Council and found people either love it or hate it!

Cycle lanes had been approved by North Shore City Council (NSCC) for installation on Lake Road between Esmonde Road and Hauraki Road. ViaStrada developed and reviewed alternative options for accommodating cyclists on this 23 m road corridor carrying four lanes of traffic.

The University of Canterbury introduced a new course this year - Transport Design Project. Industry mentors assisted groups of four students during the course of the project. Jeanette Ward and Axel Wilke mentored one of the groups.

Following a fatality at the pedestrian crossing facility at the intersection of Wainoni Road and Bickerton Street, ViaStrada was requested to investigate options for improving the roading environment.

The client wanted to see how the existing parking supply was on the street. This gave maximum information on the impact of different cycle lane schemes for this stretch of road. Very complex data such as parking time restrictions, bus stops, taxis and unrestricted parking is clearly and accurately shown on the simple plan.