Duke St intersection changes address traffic safety issues
MOTORISTS will soon be prevented from crossing two lanes of traffic at an intersection on Dunedin’s oneway system which has been branded a deathtrap.
Vehicles driving on the eastern part of Duke St, off Castle St, will no longer be able to cross Cumberland St into the western section of Duke St, leading to the Woodhaugh area.
NZ Transport Agency projects manager Simon Underwood said signs and a bulbous kerb would be used to stop motorists driving across Cumberland St.
Instead, drivers will be encouraged to use the Howe St intersection with Cumberland St, which is due to have traffic lights installed.
The Howe St and Duke St intersections are the only crossroads intersection on the oneway street system south not controlled by lights.
Mr Underwood said work on both intersections would begin in four or five months, and the traffic lights would be put in place first.
‘‘Although motorists will continue to be able to turn on to Cumberland St from either side of Duke St, a safer option for motorists wishing to cross Cumberland St will be via Howe St, once the traffic signals have been installed.’’
Mercure Leisure Lodge general manager Leigh Stock welcomed the change to the Duke St intersection, as he had seen accidents and many near misses there.
Motorists turning right off Duke St into Cumberland St often did not realise that motorists crossing from the eastern part of Duke St had right of way.
‘‘It’s a great move [by NZTA],’’ he said.
‘‘It’s the best thing they could do.’’
Last year Dunedin motorcyclist Brian O’Neill complained to NZTA of the intersection’s poor visibility and driver behaviour, saying some drivers ignored the stop sign at Duke St.
Mr O’Neill said the sign was ‘‘routinely ignored’’ and branded Duke St ‘‘suicide alley’’.
No injury crashes had been recorded at the Duke St intersection between 2012 and 2016, but five noninjury crashes were recorded in the same period.
A twovehicle, noninjury crash on Duke St in April 2017, sent one vehicle into a brick wall.
Mr Underwood said the work would be done independently of the construction of the new cycleway, which is planned to be complete by the end of the year.