Safety first prompts indefinite road closure
The ‘no exit’ and ‘no entry’ signage is set to remain long term on a road that has been closed for a trial period.
The Nelson City Council announced on May 10 that the Hampden St west intersection with Waimea Rd would be closed to vehicles indefinitely – and the decision has been welcomed by many locals, but not all.
In October 2019, Hampden St West began a trial closure for safety reasons, and since planter boxes were put in place, stopping vehicles entering or leaving the street, street resident and mother, Adrienne Alford said there had been ‘‘ no accidents at all’’.
The intersection used by many school children filtering to and from schools including Hampden Street School, Nelson Intermediate, Nelson College and Victory Primary School was fraught with danger, Alford said.
‘‘It was terrible, it got to a point where my husband and I recognised the sound of someone being hit.’’
Between 2012 and 2019, Nelson City Council recorded 14 crashes. Of those, six crashes were vehicle vs cyclist, with one serious and four minor injuries, and one was a crash involving a car hitting a pedestrian, causing minor injury.
Alford said the road closure meant she had to drive ‘‘a bit further’’ to get into town, ‘‘but I would prefer to not hear that sound again’’.
Since the closure began, she said she had seen a lot more parents walking down the road together with their children.
‘‘I see the happiness with having it closed.’’
Closer to town, residents on a narrow backstreet are feeling the negative effects of the closure.
Locking St resident, David Eagle, said drivers were using the street as a shortcut ‘‘and no amount of signage is going to stop people from doing that’’.
The narrow street has no footpaths and with ‘‘no safe parking for people that don’t have driveways’’, he said the increase of traffic made the road feel ‘‘less safe’’.
Two of Eagle’s children attended Hampden Street School and he said a solution to make the Hampden St intersection safer would have been to remove all the parking to increase visibility.
For Locking St, it had turned ‘‘a safe street that you could happily let your kids walk to school by themselves, to a street that there’s no way you’d let your kids walk to school’’.
Another Locking St resident commented on a Nelson City Council Facebook post and said the traffic had increased by more than 50% on
their street ... despite ‘‘no thoroughfare residents only’’ signs at either end.
‘‘As a regular biker, I do not feel safe to bike up or down Locking St due to the new layout. On the majority of the road there is not enough room for a car to safely pass a bike or a pedestrian.’’
NCC transport and solid waste manager Marg Parfitt said making the road closure long term made ‘‘complete sense given the substantial safety gains’’.
She said council was working on a design to replace the planter boxes with ‘‘more permanent planting, a pathway for cyclists, bike stands for families who cycle this route to school, and potential speed calming measures for the cul-de-sac’’.
The street’s closure has seen some drivers using nearby Locking St as part of a rat run in and out of town but Parfitt said in response to feedback from residents, speed cushions had been installed, a 30km speed limited implemented and improved signage and markings.
‘‘It was terrible, it got to a point where my husband and I recognised the sound of someone being hit.’’ Adrienne Alford
Hampden St resident