The new pedestrian crossing had to be dug up after several faults were found shortly after it was built. Photo / Alex Burton
The new pedestrian crossing had to be dug up after several faults were found shortly after it was built. Photo / Alex Burton
Auckland Mayor Wayne Brown has blasted Auckland Transport (AT) for failing to pick up faults on a botched pedestrian crossing until after it was completed, leading to more disruption and inconvenience for locals.
Brown was responding to a Herald story about a $346,000 raised pedestrian crossing on WilliamsonAve in Grey Lynn being dug for repairs only months after it was built.
The pedestrian crossing was completed in September last year, but subsequent site inspections picked up a number of issues that did not meet quality standards.
Auckland Mayor Wayne Brown is pointing the finger at Auckland Transport. Photo / Michael Craig
They included a non-compliant ramp that needed to be extended, an entry ramp that did not meet the 1:15 grade that needed replacing and problems with a cesspit that did not line up with a channel.
Brown said he had been assured that ratepayers will not pick up the cost of the repairs, which were undertaken by the contractor, Traffic Systems Ltd (TSL).
“The fact these problems were only identified after the project was completed suggests an oversight by Auckland Transport when it comes to quality control and contract management.
“But there is no way to measure the disruption and inconvenience this stuff-up has caused locals. It is simply not good enough,” said Brown, who is a qualified engineer.
He is concerned that AT’s Vision Zero programme of safety improvements is of low engineering quality and causing too much disruption.
During the repairs of the Williamson Ave crossing, orange cones were installed back from the intersection with Millais St, interrupting the flow of traffic for several days while TSL undertook the repairs.
Motorists faced delays while faults with the pedestrian crossing were repaired. Photo / Alex Burton
The mayor’s criticism follows his calls for “a complete change of approach at AT” and vowing a crackdown on “annoying” road cones.
Asked if AT had similar issues with TSL, a spokesman said it is possible some snags have previously been picked up, but it would take quite a long time to go back and look at each and every project the company was involved in.
When the Herald sought comment from TSL, the company’s general manager at traffic systems, Tim Lott, said “given Auckland Transport is our client, all media inquiries are to be directed to them”.
Auckland Transport’s executive general manager for safety, Stacey van der Putten, said the organisation is “committed to making our roads safer for all road users through a range of measures”, including setting safe speed limits and making physical changes to roads when appropriate for a given stretch of road.
“Because most of our construction projects in the road corridor have safety implications (including many of our renewals) it is hard to separate out ‘safety’ projects specifically - as part of Vision Zero we look for opportunities to make our roads safer as part of the majority of our projects,” she said.
“When we are making physical changes to our roads to make them safer we have high standards in place and clear expectations of our contractors, and we have robust internal quality control processes in place to ensure these are met.”
Van der Putten said sometimes defects are picked up during the build process which need to be remedied before the work can be signed off, “just like with home builds and renovations”.
“When these issues are identified we work with the construction company involved to ensure that their remedial work is carried out in the most efficient, least disruptive manner.”
She said AT was also making improvements to the way its contractors, utilities and developers manage traffic disruption and worker safety when construction and maintenance projects are underway.
“We need to make sure we are striking the right balance between keeping members of the public and workers safe near construction sites, and not unduly inconveniencing road users - whether they are travelling by car, public transport, bike or as pedestrians.
This is starting with a six-month trial to be led by one of our major road maintenance contractors from June and will involve “a shift for that contractor from traditional, highly prescriptive traffic management plans and practices to ones based on site-specific, context-sensitive traffic management using a risk-based approach as anticipated by the new New Zealand Guide to Temporary Traffic Management recently released by Waka Kotahi”.
“In essence we will be working closely with that contractor to enable their teams on the ground to make pragmatic decisions about the level of traffic management needed to keep their crews and members of the public safe while not unduly inconveniencing road users.”
AT said it was also exploring whether the upcoming works on Ponsonby Rd and Pompallier Terrace could also be included in our streamlined traffic management trial.
