Death feared at cross roads
Helen Svendsen thought she was about to be killed when she was stuck by a distracted driver at a busy intersection in Feilding.
Shunted five metres, her Honda Accord was thrust into a third vehicle and came to rest on top of the sidewalk.
Svendsen, 57, was left with major bruising to her abdominal, chest and ribs, and had injuries to her left knee, including blood clots that became infected, and she required crutches to walk.
Her vehicle was written off in the July 26 collision at the intersection of Kimbolton Rd – which is also State Highway 54 – and Denbigh St.
The desperate motorist has joined a town-wide crusade to spark action at four congested intersections along Kimbolton Rd. They are with Derby St, Lytton and East streets, Denbigh and Weld streets, and North and Pharazyn streets.
Svendsen lives in the northeast of Feilding, a onceidyllic collection of sleepy lifestyle blocks, which in recent years has undergone significant suburban growth. More families, more tradesmen, a lot more vehicles – but the roading hasn’t kept up.
The walking-pace crawl along Kimbolton Rd toward town can start as early as 8am, with a nearby rail line often halting commuters at the busiest roundabout in the heart of the town.
Streams of parents, dropping off children at Lytton Street
‘‘I’m still recovering from it to be honest. ’’ Helen Svendsen
School, favour turning left and finding the sanctuary of a turning bay rather than attempt a right-turn at the hectic crossing. The same dance occurs at 3pm.
A petition urging the New Zealand Transport Agency to take action, and install either roundabouts or traffic lights, had more than 1200 signatures in its first five days, and organiser Sue James is collecting crash data at each intersection.
Meanwhile, the agency says Feilding is a low priority and congestion is no worse than other parts of the region.
Svendsen was driving along Kimbolton Rd, when a woman in a 4WD pulled out of Denbigh St and collided with her. Her vehicle was then pushed into a car on the other side of Denbigh St.
‘‘I’m still recovering from it to be honest. I was a very lucky lady,’’ she said of her injuries.
‘‘If she had gone into the driver’s door I don’t know whether I would be here. I try to avoid being on the roads in peak hours because it is just a nightmare.’’
A further 1800 homes are planned in the next decade near
the northern end of Kimbolton Rd. Svendsen said this would put severe pressure on an already congested and dangerous thoroughfare.
‘‘Feilding is growing. It’s getting worse and there is going to be more accidents, not near misses,’’ she said.
‘‘I could have been a statistic. It could have been me. If anyone had been walking [on the footpath] I would just hate to think what would have happened.’’
James said they were low speed intersections, but people were becoming more aggressive behind the wheel.
‘‘The other day I was passed from the inside by someone who was late for work,’’ the petition organiser said.
‘‘The intersections are tricky, dangerous and congested.’’
The agency’s regional transport manager Mark Owen was aware of the problems being reported, but he said congestion appeared to be for a short duration at peak times.
‘‘We are, however, concerned with the issues being reported at the existing pedestrian zebra crossing, as people crossing the road are more vulnerable to injury,’’ he said.
‘‘The congestion issues are not a priority as they are relatively low compared to other parts of the region.’’
The agency had been working with the Manawatu¯ District Council to plan the future connection between an area known as ‘‘precinct four’’, where 1800 homes will be built, and the state highway.
The council’s roading manager John Jones said there had been 28 crashes at the four intersections over the past five years. Johns hoped to work with the agency to develop a ‘‘future works programme’’, which would identify traffic problems and where the costs should fall.