Thursday 7 August 2014

Proposed design concepts for Transport Projects approved for consultation

Christchurch City Council’s Earthquake Recovery Committee of the Whole today endorsed proposed concept designs for two transport projects and gave the go-ahead to start public engagement on them.

Public engagement on Hospital Corner (Stage 1 early works) and Hagley / Moorhouse Corner transport projects is scheduled to begin mid-August 2014 and will take place over a three week period.

These are the first of the proposed transport projects to deliver An Accessible City. This is the transport chapter of the Christchurch Central Recovery Plan developed under the Canterbury Earthquake Recovery Act 2011. An Accessible City was prepared by the Canterbury Earthquake Recovery Authority (CERA) in partnership with the Christchurch City Council, Environment Canterbury (ECan) and the NZ Transport Agency.

People initially shared their ideas and viewpoints about transport through the Council’s 2011 ‘Share an Idea’ campaign, more feedback came when CERA consulted on the Draft Transport Chapter of the Central City Recovery Plan (which became An Accessible City) in 2012 and 2013.

The Council and CERA have now developed this feedback into transport projects that focus on changes to traffic flow in the Central City and want to check back with the community on the proposed design concepts for these projects.

Unit Manager Asset and Network Planning, Terry Howes says, “These two transport projects focus on improving traffic flow to anchor projects and are designed to assist pedestrian, cyclist and vehicle movement in and through the Health Precinct. They are a priority as there is a need to get the physical changes to the roading network in place for the opening of the new Bus Interchange in April 2015.

“The anchor project developments mean the way people will travel to the Central City will be different from how they travelled prior to the earthquakes. These transport projects ask us to imagine our new city and how we will move efficiently within it and get to the new destinations.

“The proposed designs for Hospital Corner and Hagley / Moorhouse Corner were arrived at after careful consideration of a range of options. Safety and pedestrian-friendly environments are an important principle in the Council’s design considerations for transport projects and these are reflected in the designs that propose priority areas for pedestrians, low-speed streets in the inner zone and a one-way Tuam Street that will give buses the ‘green wave’ into the new Bus Interchange.

“There will be trade-offs that need to be made in designing for transport and public areas, and given the limited road space (only 20 metres wide) not everyone will get what they would ideally like. The Council’s aim is to provide a transport system to meet the needs of the whole network – this means looking at a big picture view of transport for the whole city and how the various transport projects intersect and support each other.

“They also support the objectives of the Transport Chapter of the Christchurch Central Recovery Plan (An Accessible City) promoting the central city as a destination rather than a through-route by creating a more pedestrian-friendly core with improved and well-connected walking, cycling and public transport facilities and routes,” Mr Howes says.
Chair of the Environmental Committee, Councillor Phil Clearwater says, “The Council looks forward to receiving the views of the community during the upcoming engagement process and I strongly encourage businesses, property owners, organisations and residents to take the opportunity to look at the proposed changes and provide feedback.

“The Council will be holding drop-in sessions where people can view the proposed design concepts, talk to Council and CERA staff and make a response. The Council will also be in contact with key organisations, business and property owners near these projects to make sure they have the information they need about design concepts and how to make a response.

“I am particularly pleased we have included a mechanism for interested people to engage directly with the Council’s Environmental Committee about their concerns and ideas during the course of the engagement. While these design concepts may not fully meet everyone’s needs, it is important we hear peoples’ views and have direct discussions,” he says.

At Hospital Corner, including Oxford Street and Tuam Street, the proposed changes include:
• Oxford Terrace will no longer provide a route for cars heading into the Central City. It will be restricted to hospital and local business access vehicles, taxis, cyclists and pedestrians, with the final layout determined as part of the Te Papa Ōtākaro / Avon River Precinct project works;
• Tuam Street becomes one-way for city-bound traffic and will be in the 30 kilometre per hour zone;
• A separated bus lane heading toward Riccarton on Tuam Street between Antigua Street and Hagley Avenue;
• The bus stop on Oxford Terrace adjacent to the hospital will be relocated to Tuam Street;
• A bus ‘super stop’ is planned on both sides of Tuam Street as part of stage two completion works;
• The existing exit from Christchurch Hospital at Oxford Terrace remains open, but vehicles can only travel south along Antigua Street;
• St Asaph Street is extended as a one-way street westbound all the way to Hagley Park; and
• Overall, there will be a net loss of 51 car parking spaces in the Hospital Corner project area as part of Stage 1 early works. To offset the reduction of on-street car parks, a short-term off-street car park (of around 800 spaces) has been established on the old “Brewery” site on the corner of St Asaph and Antigua Streets.

At Hagley / Moorhouse Corner and surrounding streets proposed changes include:
• Converting Hagley Avenue, Lincoln Road, Grove Road and Moorhouse Avenue intersection to a T-intersection;
• Hagley Avenue will be closed at the Moorhouse Avenue intersection except for a left turn out of Hagley Avenue onto Moorhouse Avenue;
• Hagley Avenue becomes one-way from Selwyn Street to Moorhouse Avenue;
• Provision of 23 additional car parking spaces near the netball courts;
• Overall, there will be a net loss of 14 car parking spaces in the Hagley / Moorhouse project area;
• The existing path in Hagley Park will be widened to a four metre wide shared pedestrian/cycle path; and
• No exit from Grove Road onto Moorhouse Avenue.

To view the proposed concept designs for Hospital Corner and Hagley / Moorhouse Corner click here.

The remaining draft design concepts for the First Phase Transport Projects will come to the Council in September for approval to consult.

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