Hospital road layout raises fears

The proposed layout of a new roading project outside Christchurch Hospital will put patients at risk, health officials warn.

A 117-metre section of Oxford Tce between Riccarton Ave and Antigua St will be redeveloped next April. It will include a shared cyclist and pedestrian path, a fiveminute parking drop-off zone, and an 11m-wide crossing linking the hospital and outpatients building.

The Accessible City project, led by Crown company Otakaro, needs to get Christchurch City Council approval before work can begin.

The council’s Infrastructure, transport and environment committee on Wednesday heard from cyclists and the Canterbury District Health Board who had concerns about the design.

Clinical lead for the facilities redevelopment Dr Rob Ojala said the main concern was when people came down a ramp from the hospital and straight onto the shared path and the crossing.

‘‘While the cyclist may avoid a collision, if a pedestrian cannot stop themselves adequately, over they go.’’

Ojala said some people using the crossing would be elderly and frail.

The design as it stood did not give cyclists enough of a cue to slow down and be aware of pedestrians, he said. Two major cycleways would feed into the path.

CDHB operations manager George Schwass said he expected about 900 people to cross the shared path each weekday. About 500 of those would come in a shuttle from the hospital’s Deans Ave car park and 400 would come from other means of transport.

Spokes Canterbury spokesman Dirk de Lu said the shared path was a minimal width and combining cyclists with people on crutches was not a good idea.

He said the project would discourage cycling and poorly service the hospital.

Independent transport adviser Angus Bargh, who represented Otakaro, said shared paths were typically 3m wide. The proposed Oxford Tce shared path was 4.5m, which was enough to cope with three times the volume of pedestrians and cyclists expected.

Council traffic engineer Steve Dejong said there would always be conflict points when cyclists and pedestrians competed for the same space, but it was a good design.

‘‘We don’t believe there will be a problem. We believe this is the best design you will get.’’

Cr Sara Templeton said she was concerned the committee was being asked to approve the design when Wednesday’s meeting was the first time councillors saw it.

‘‘It has meant a messy meeting and dissatisfaction from the stakeholders.’’

The committee spent almost two hours on the issue before deciding on a set of recommendations to the council. It wanted zebra lines on the pedestrian crossing, the design to encourage slow cycling and the council to consult on a 10kph speed limit.