Vigilance needed around cones
reliability of the city’s power supply.
Workers are installing a new 33kv cable from the Pascal St substation to the Transpower grid exit point at Bunnythorpe and to the Kairanga substation, and have reached the Botanical Rd bridge over the Mangaone Stream.
The project is a big one, and so is the traffic management plan.
Before any project that affects road users can go ahead, the contractors have to lodge a traffic management plan with the city council.
Blackley’s usually manages its own and provides its own gear.
The planning has to consider placement of warning signs, footpath closures, erection of temporary ‘‘bumblebee’’ fences that are child-proof, and timing of traffic restrictions around peak hours and school times.
On some jobs, such as at busy intersections, it can take up to a couple of hours to set up all the cones and signs and fences before work on the actual project can start. It also takes a lot of time ensuring the safety equipment stays put.
Staff check sites up to three times a day at weekends, particularly on Sunday mornings, to replace cones or put them back where they belong after late-night interference. He said restricting traffic movement did cause people inconvenience. While most people were understanding, workers did get occasional rude gestures.
The smile and the courteous wave were part of traffic controllers’ safety training.