Safety focus of Dunedin upgrades

THE Dunedin City Council says its planned city and tertiary precinct upgrades will include a significant safety focus after a distressing rise in accidents involving pedestrians and cyclists.

Two pedestrians were hit by motor vehicles in Dunedin on Tuesday. One incident involved the death of a 77yearold woman.

Police sought witnesses to the collision at the intersection of Dundas and Great King Sts and it was being investigated by the Dunedin Enquiry Section.

Another female pedestrian was seriously injured being struck by a motor vehicle on the same day at the intersection of North Rd and Crown St.

The two incidents are the latest in a series of pedestrians and cyclists being hit by motor vehicles in Dunedin in past weeks.

Three people, one pedestrian, a cyclist and a skateboarder, were all injured from December 4 to 6.

Dunedin City Council transport group manager Richard Saunders said accidents in city streets were always concerning and distressing and it was a priority for the council to ensure roads were safe for pedestrians and other road users.

Safety work occurred throughout the year, but the council’s proposals for a central city and tertiary precinct upgrade would have a ‘‘significant’’ safety focus.

Those upgrades were part of the council’s 10yearplan to spend $20 million ‘‘revitalising’’ the streets in the tertiary precinct and $60 million was earmarked for rejuvenating the central city.

Mr Saunders said although the council did not have details of the recent accidents, it would work with police and the NZ Transport Agency throughout the process.

Information provided to the Otago Daily Times by NZTA showed 23 cyclists were injured in the Dunedin area this year up to November 30, six of them seriously.

Another cyclist was taken to hospital with serious injuries after being hit by a truck in St Andrew St on December 6.

NZTA road safety director Harry Wilson said NZTA was committed to reducing deaths and serious injuries which included specific work aimed at improving safety for people who cycle as well as pedestrians.

‘‘The road toll is not just a number and we never lose sight of the real human loss and grieving behind these figures.’’

He said NZTA was taking a ‘‘safe system’’ approach to ensure New Zealand had a cycling network which accounted for human error. It was invested in network development with a programme of ‘‘behaviour change activities’’ to reframe cycling as an integral and valued transport method. The agency’s ‘‘Share the Road’’ campaign was designed to personalise and humanise people cycling so motorists saw them as real people who had a right to share the road safely.

‘‘We want drivers to see the person not simply the bike.’’

Pressure points identified by NZTA included the State High way 1 oneway system with its separated cycle lanes between Pine Hill Rd and Rattray St.

‘‘Although cycling safety is a primary focus the project also includes works . . . for improved pedestrian safety.’’

Highway works completed in Caversham incorporated safe and effective pedestrian and cycle linkages from Kensington Hill to Lookout Point.

A shared path through to Port Chalmers was still under development.

A Dunedin police (03) 4714800 or Crimestoppers 0800555111.