Traf f ic-light faults stall Wellington motorists

A serious traffic light issue in Wellington has continuously left motorists stalled at intersections waiting for invisible pedestrians.

For months one of the faults has affected the early morning run at the busy intersection of Customhouse Quay and WaringTaylor Street.

Between 6am and 7am the pedestrian crossing function is meant to be triggered by pedestrians pressing a button but the fault meant the crossing was activated automatically at every cycle.

Wellington City Council spokeswoman Victoria BartonChapple said the problem started in October when the signals would randomly change to a flashing amber state.

Fixing it took some time, she said.

‘‘There were multiple faults involved and the resolution of a serious flashing amber fault was not straight forward.’’

A temporary arrangement meant the pedestrian crossing across Customhouse Quay operated in every cycle, whether a pedestrian was waiting or not, she said.

‘‘Early this year it was decided to carry out alterations to the controller software to eliminate the need for this pedestrian crossing to operate in every cycle.’’

The alterations were implemented in May but further damage to the callboxes caused crossing displays to activate without a pedestrian pressing the button.

Four further intersections were reported as faulty, including Cable and Chaffers streets and the Willeston St and Jervois Quay intersection, which were found to have callbox faults.

Both were reported to have been fixed by council contractors on June 28, she said.

Faults at the Wakefield St and Tory St intersection caused ‘‘significant delays’’ on June 23 and 24, she said.

‘‘This was not callbox-related but it was caused by damage to our vehicle detection loops arising from Tory St resurfacing works. Some temporary adjustments have been made to reduce delays.’’

Overall, three out of the four intersection problems reported to the council had callbox faults but the problems were unrelated, she said.

‘‘We believe there is nothing malicious or sinister involved.

‘‘[The] council has over 650 callboxes to maintain. They are exposed to the elements as well as to kicking and hitting by some members of the public.

‘‘It is, therefore, not surprising that some of them are faulty from time to time.

‘‘We believe there is nothing malicious or sinister involved. [The] council has over 650 callboxes to maintain.’’ Wellington City Council’s Victoria Barton-Chapple