Breaking down barriers

I was talking with a nurse from Tahuna who regularly drives to Matamata along State Highway 27. As a regular user of the state highway network in our district she had some questions about the flexible road safety barrier posts that appeared over the last couple of months, and in some cases then disappeared.

State highways (including Broadway and Firth St) are the domain of the NZ Transport Agency, not the district council. However, at the council we do have a productive relationship with the transport agency to ensure that it is aware of concerns in our district and can work towards adequate solutions.

To better understand the new flexible road safety barriers, I spoke to the transport agency about the road and roadside safety improvements being applied to our rural highways throughout the country. The government is investing $600m over six years to prevent deaths and serious injuries on high-risk rural state highways over the next decade.

The Safe Roads and Roadsides programme aims to prevent people from dying or being seriously injured on our rural roads. Around 1500km of rural state highways throughout the country will be made safer through relatively simple measures, such as rumble strips, shoulder widening, safety barriers and better signage.

I learnt that flexible road safety barriers work by ‘catching’ vehicles that stray off the road, redirecting them away from hazards such as roadside trees and power poles. The flexible cables further enhance safety by absorbing the impact force that would otherwise be applied to the vehicle and its occupants. The transport agency says flexible road safety barriers reduce fatalities by an impressive 70-80 per cent.

The benefits of flexible road safety barriers to motorcyclists is more controversial, with a widespread concern that the cables will act like a ‘cheese cutter’ upon collision. But I learnt that roadside and median barriers – particularly flexible barriers – reduce motorbike casualties by around 50 per cent. This is because motorcyclists are more likely to survive an impact with a roadside or median flexible barrier than an impact with a tree, pole or oncoming vehicle.

During my discussions with the transport agency I found out why the barrier posts along the Waharoa straight were removed after they were installed. It’s because some residents who live on the road asked for the safety barrier to be moved further to the left to make a wider and safer stopping place for them to wait before turning right into driveways on the opposite side of the road. The transport agency agreed to increase the size of the shoulder, creating a safer environment for motorists to pull off the highway. Contractors have taken down the barrier posts, which will be reused elsewhere, and work was to begin resurfacing the area where the concrete foundations were laid for the posts. Construction of a replacement guardrail barrier was to begin in mid-September.

All in all, the installation of flexible road safety barriers and guard rails in our district sounds like a significant and worthwhile improvement to our roads.

Another challenge I have with the state highway network in our district is crossing SH27 as a pedestrian at the Broadway (SH24) – Firth St (SH27) intersection. The heavy traffic flow means that there is often quite a wait before I can cross safely with my children and I have also seen mobility scooter users having trouble crossing in a timely and safe manner. This specific issue has been discussed at the council table and will be highlighted as part of our wider communications with the transport agency, but I have also taken the opportunity to lodge my feedback directly https:/ /www.nzta.govt.nz/contact-us/ feedback-or-comments/. I understand the transport agency must balance the demands of many different users and am pleased they have systems to collect a range of views on issues of concern.

-James Sainsbury is a Matamata Ward councillor for Matamata-Piako District Council.