Safety ideas sought for Featherston St

Palmerston North residents are being asked to join the design team to come up with ways to make one of the city’s busiest streets and intersections safer.

The city council will have up to about $2 million to invest in safety improvements along Featherston St and through the Rangitīkei St/State Highway 3 intersection.

The bulk of the money is coming through a Waka Kotahi NZ Transport 90% subsidy focused on the 800-metre stretch past two schools from North St to Aroha St.

The council has decided to extend the project all the way to Botanical Rd.

There have been 270 crashes in 10 years along the route, including one fatality.

Pedestrians and cyclists were involved in 29 of the crashes.

The road carries more than 15,500 motor vehicles every day, and a lot of cyclists and pedestrians attending Palmerston North Boys’ High School and Central Normal School.

Countdown supermarket, Mitre 10 and a McDonald’s drive-through also generated a lot of traffic movements.

Chief infrastructure officer Sarah Sinclair said council staff had already been out talking to businesses and schools along the street, and feedback was being sought from residents and commuters familiar with the area.

The review would consider how to make people feel safer on the footpaths, to make cycling safer, and also improve things for people in vehicles.

Changes to cycleways, footpaths, parking restrictions, the streetscape and planting were all up for consideration. One thing that would not be featured would be planter boxes, after the public backlash over the Main St/Pioneer Highway trial used them to protect the cycle lanes.

Featherston St was identified as a top priority for improvements in the council’s 2019 Urban Cycle Network Masterplan, and is also part of the city’s integrated transport initiative to improve freight efficiency and urban safety over a 30-year project.

Sinclair said once people’s ideas had been collated, work would start on a design, which would also go out for a period of consultation early next year.

The council will be holding drop-in sessions at the Highbury flea market on Sunday, November 27 from 8am to midday, at Palmerston North Boys’ High School on Thursday, December 1 from 5.30pm to 7pm, and Central Energy Trust Arena on Monday, December 5 from 5.30pm to 7pm.

People can also provide feedback on the council’s website.