Re Glasgow St lights (June 9). I am sitting watching these lights at my desk every Monday to Friday. Every time the buzzer goes off I flinch, my nerves are shot, and I am basically dreading the day to be first on the scene of something horrific.
My main concern is a small child or older pedestrian getting hit by a vehicle travelling at speed through these lights. People on bikes move a bit quicker, but all pedestrians and cyclists are at risk. I have even witnessed a young woman in a wheelchair come close to being hit. I see at least six red lights run on a daily basis. Sometimes more. Going in both directions.
The worst times of the day are early morning from 7.30 to about 8.30-9am and in the afternoon from 2pm to 4pm.
Police told me: "I have tasked the Whanganui road policing staff with spending more time there as able, but obviously we can't have a constable stationed there 24/7, so my concern is that by sporadically ticketing or warning drivers we won't affect the large-scale behaviour change required to make the crossing safe. I will contact the council roading team myself once we have made our own observations of the issue, but I also encourage you to keep bringing your ongoing observations to their attention."
I find this response completely acceptable from the police, they work really hard for our community and can't be everywhere at once. However, I think more needs to be done and as soon as possible before someone is seriously injured or killed.