This page is not a current Christchurch City Council document. Please read our disclaimer.
CITY SERVICES COMMITTEE
SUPPLEMENTARY AGENDA
10 FEBRUARY 1998
AT 2.00 PM
23. DELEGATIONS: PROSECUTION OF WATER SUPPLY RELATED OFFENCES RR 7041
| Officer responsible | Author |
| Water Services Manager | David Rolls |
| Corporate Plan Output: Consents and Applications 9.3.7 | |
The purpose of this report is to recommend that the Council delegate its powers of prosecution in respect of all offences under all water supply legislation administered by the Council.
Recently the Water Services Unit has requested the owner of a tenanted dwellinghouse property to repair a faulty water supply fitting on that property. That fitting is causing considerable quantities of water to run to waste. Despite the requests the owner has failed to take any action.
The Council is now faced with enforcing its requirement. It can do this by stopping or restricting the supply and/or by prosecution. In this case prosecution is considered the appropriate action as stopping or restricting the supply would be unfair on the tenant.
In considering a prosecution it has been discovered that the Council has not delegated its powers to prosecute any offences under any of the water supply legislation which it administers. In the absence of any delegation each prosecution must be referred to a meeting of the full Council.
In the interest of administrative efficiency it is recommended that the Council make the following delegation.
| Recommendation: | That the Council delegate to the Water
Services Manager and the Water Supply Manager (severally)
the power to institute any prosecution and to make any
decision in respect of any matter relating to any such
prosecution, for any offence under:
|
| Chairman's Recommendation: | That the above recommendation be adopted. |
24. SYMES ROAD - NO RIGHT TURN RR 7049
| Officer responsible | Author |
| City Streets Manager | Paul Burden, Area Engineer |
| Corporate Plan Output: Road Markings and Signs | |
The purpose of this report is to seek Council approval to prohibit right turn manoeuvres out of Symes Road at the Main South Road intersection.
LOCATION
Green Lane, Symes Road and Main South Road intersect at a point immediately west of the Sockburn overbridge. In fact, the overbridge is just starting to rise within the intersection. The location of the intersection is such that it attracts a high percentage of heavy vehicles travelling to and from the industrial areas of Parkhouse Road, Hayton Road etc. Main South Road is a four lane median divided road carrying around 36,000 vehicles per day. This is the highest concentration of traffic on any road in Christchurch.
THE PROBLEMS
There is considerable concern at the level of safety at the intersection. The reported accident data over the last five years reveals a total of 15 accidents at an average of three per year. Whilst this has not attracted any immediate priority from Transit New Zealand (Main South Road is a state highway), the poor safety record is still significant.
A recent fatality at the intersection has highlighted the need to consider some form of remedial action as soon as possible.
The most significant problem is created by the combination of poor visibility for vehicles exiting the side roads and the speed of traffic travelling down from the overbridge. From an examination of the accident data it is clear that traffic turning right into and right out of Symes Road are having the most difficulty. The right turn out contributes to seven out of the 15 recorded accidents and the right turn in contributes to five.
It is the right turn out of Symes Road that is of particular concern. Most drivers won't even attempt this turn. However, there are some who are willing to take the risk. From observations, in most instances the turn cannot be completed in one go. Drivers will often "dart" to the middle of the roadway where limited protection is provided by the median, then will wait for a gap in the opposing traffic before quickly turning to the right and joining the traffic stream. This is an extremely high risk manoeuvre in this environment and will often result in some form of evasive action by other traffic, ie sharp braking or sudden lane change.
Visibility is limited due to the location of the intersection with respect to the overbridge. It is only possible to see a vehicle approaching when it appears over the top of the bridge. These vehicles are often travelling at speeds in excess of 60 kph.
TURNING VOLUMES
The turning traffic volumes were surveyed over three separate one hour periods, these being morning peak, off peak and evening peak. The data shows that the right turn into Symes Road is quite a high volume manoeuvre (126, 124 and 174 respectively). Around one third of these are heavy vehicles.
Conversely, the right turn out of Symes Road is a low volume movement (9, 32, and 23 respectively). It is considered that this is directly associated with the complexity and high risk in this manoeuvre. Only eight heavy vehicles completed this manoeuvre, all of which occurred in the off peak period. No heavy vehicles attempted this turn in the peak hours surveyed.
DISCUSSION
A meeting was held recently with representatives from New Zealand Police, Transit New Zealand and City Council staff. The meeting was called to discuss the mutual concern with safety at the intersection and to a degree was sparked by the recent fatality. There was a consensus reached that the safety of the intersection can be significantly enhanced by banning all right turns out of Symes Road. It is considered that the significant safety benefits of this proposal far outweigh the inconvenience to the very minor number of vehicles currently carrying out this manoeuvre.
The vehicles which would no longer be able to turn right will either utilise the Parkhouse Road/Curletts Road intersection or will "U-turn" at the purpose-built facility on Main South Road near Handworth Street. Due to the low volume of vehicles being considered there is no expectation of any problem being transferred to these locations where turns can be more safely accommodated.
Another outcome of the meeting was that there is a need to carefully plan for traffic growth in this area. Transit New Zealand have already done a lot of work on possible future road links to alleviate congestion and improve traffic safety. The intersection of Green Lane, Symes Road and Main South Road will be included in the ongoing study as will other intersections along Main South Road including the Sockburn roundabout. The proposed turning ban is a short-term solution targeted at immediate safety benefits in a high risk traffic environment. It is acknowledged that the Council needs to work closely with Transit New Zealand in the development of comprehensive traffic management proposals which will address the increasing growth in the area and meet the demands of the future.
CONCLUSION
To improve traffic safety at this intersection is important. Prohibiting the right turn out of Symes Road will remove a potential hazard and a factor in seven out of 15 reported collisions at this junction over the past five years.
If the "no right turn" sign is approved a traffic island will be constructed and the alignment of the left turn facility changed to provide guidance for drivers approaching the intersection from Symes Road.
| Recommendation: | That the Council be asked to prohibit at any time right turns out of Symes Road at the Main South Road (State Highway 73)/Green Lane intersection. |
| Chairman's Recommendation: | That the above recommendation be adopted. |