Support for street
Overwhelming support for the installation of a pedestrian crossing at Feilding’s busiest intersection is forcing the Manawatu District Council to come up with solutions.
Last week the FeildingRangitikei Herald reported a group of senior citizens with mobility restrictions were calling for official pedestrian crossings to be installed at the roundabout intersecting Kimbolton Rd and Aorangi St.
Members of the group were reluctant to use the courtesy crossing, where 186 vehicles passed in under five minutes of monitoring, at times backing up and disrupting traffic as far as Stafford St.
Manawatu mayor Helen Worboys said she would address the issue this week by talking with the council’s roading team.
A Neighbourly poll by the Feilding-Rangitikei Herald attracted 50 votes and showed only 15 per cent felt the current system at the roundabout was satisfactory.
More than 50 per cent believed a designated pedestrian crossing was required and 30 per cent felt it was time Feilding installed traffic lights.
Roading operations team leader Brent Holmes said last week the Kimbolton Rd and Aorangi St intersection would be reviewed during the council’s streetscaping work.
But that work wasn’t scheduled for another two years, at least, and Worboys said calls for immediate action had been heard.
‘‘I agree it’s a problem. It does deter people from shopping at those places over the [railway] crossing. We must be able to do something.’’
In a comment on the FeildingRangitikei Herald Facebook page Marie LaGrand said she saw an ’’elderly gentleman’’ almost hit by car trying to cross the intersection on a mobility scooter.
‘‘Driver was not at fault. It’s a dangerous area to cross especially on a scooter. Something needs to be done to make it safe for pedestrians and scooters.’’
Hindering any immediate action was the fact the two streets made up sections of State Highway 54 and crossed a railway, Worboys said.
Any work by the council would have to be undertaken in conjunction with the New Zealand Transport Agency and KiwiRail.
Holmes said it was likely the NZTA would opt for a designated zebra crossing and that traffic lights were ‘‘highly unlikely’’.