They’re not ‘crossings’

A109 Light Utility Helicopter flight with mayor Gisborne City from the air in November 2023.

Opinion

When is a crossing not a crossing? Leaving the chicken out of it — when it does not comply with the law.

In the recent hoo-ha over some coloured stripes, commentators have referred to that piece of road as a crossing. By inference, it appears they also believe all the other reddish bits in the main street are crossings. I must point out they are NOT.

These different coloured sections and the bits of footpath protruding into said roadway have no legal status whatsoever. While they LOOK like places where one might cross, and the sidewalk sticking out visually encourages that — I repeat, they are NOT official pedestrian crossings.

Pedestrian crossings must comply with legislation as to design, form and function — even though the NZ Transport Agency seems to have washed its hands of what councils do with their CBDs.

I well recall the late Harold Williams (long-time city engineer for Gisborne) voicing his opposition to pedestrian crossings on the grounds of safety. He firmly believed crossings gave a false sense of security — that somehow cars would magically stop when someone stepped out on the white stripes.

Statistics from NZTA (Waka Kotahi) show “the overwhelming majority (around 90 percent) of pedestrians injured on public roads are struck while crossing the road . . . over 60 percent occur mid-block, rather than at intersections. Eight out of 10 occur at uncontrolled sites . . .”.

Data from other countries indicate that uncontrolled crossings (those without markings or traffic signals) are the most dangerous, especially on busy main roads. Distracted drivers and pedestrians would seem to be the primary reason for these accidents.

Therefore, it would make sense to have the pedestrian/traffic “interface” as visually clear and uncluttered as possible.

Councils should not make road alterations that encourage people to step in front of traffic — NOR impede the efficient flow of traffic, which is a road’s primary function.

Markings should not be used to convey messages other than for safety.

Roger Handford