Bridge traffic irks neighbours
Neighbours of Palmerston North’s He Ara Kotahi cycle and pedestrian bridge are upset at finding themselves in the midst of a traffic jam, as 1800 people a day cross the popular new attraction over the Manawatu¯ River.
The bridge opened in June and since then it has been crossed more than 110,000 times.
Many of those visiting the city’s latest tourist attraction are vying for a park in once quiet streets – Dittmer Drive, Ruha St and Henare St.
‘‘It’s just chaos,’’ said Liz Webster, who lives near the intersection of Dittmer Drive and Ruha St. ‘‘It’s just what we thought would happen.’’
Webster said although she still thought the bridge was in the wrong place, it was a ‘‘nice’’
structure and it was good to see people out and about enjoying it.
But the number of vehicles parking on surrounding streets was dangerous, she said.
When vehicles parked on both sides of the street, the carriageway was reduced to oneway traffic, with cyclists also in the mix, and the confusion of children and dogs piling in and out of cars and people off-loading bikes and scooters.
Webster said the main problem was that the council had not fulfilled its undertaking to extend the off-road car park by the Holiday Park and the parking at the Esplanade Scenic Railway. ‘‘None of that has happened.’’ Further away from the bridge, Lesley Burton said Katene St had become much busier as motorists found Dittmer Drive and Ruha St too difficult to negotiate to get out on to Park Rd.
Burton said residents had predicted from the time the bridge site was decided that people would drive and park in surrounding streets to use it.
She said people had bought homes in the area expecting a quiet outlook, not to find themselves living in the middle of a bottleneck. ‘‘The bridge is brilliant, but it’s in the wrong place and causing the traffic jams we predicted.’’
Burton was not optimistic that use of the bridge would reduce as the novelty wore off. Instead, it was likely to get even busier in summer.
Esplanade Railway president Grant Taylor said it was frustrating the council had not organised a package of works to make access to the bridge easier in time for the opening.
There were plans to improve the steep, slippery path from the railway car park down to the riverside, but the money would not be available until July, he said.
‘‘They have put some warning signs up there, but what sort of image is that giving people visiting the place who are not from Palmerston North?’’
Also, the Esplanade master plan envisaged a new entrance off a remodelled intersection on Park Rd from Cook St leading into a larger, improved railway car park.
That was scheduled for after July.
‘‘It should all have been a coordinated build, but they are dragging the chain.’’
The city council is yet to respond to requests for comment.
‘‘It’s just what we thought would happen.’’ Liz Webster Resident