Roadmarking News
www.nzrf.co.nz Edition 158 December 2022
A suite of multi-billion dollar transport improvements to provide growing Southern Auckland communities with more transport options is picking up pace
KiwiRail is seeking feedback on two of the three new rail stations in Southern Auckland: Drury Central and Paerata stations
Waka Kotahi / NZ Transport Agency is progressing design work and landowner engagement for upgrades to Waihoehoe Road and State Highway 22 at Drury, which will provide people in existing and future residential areas with safe connections to the stations by foot, bike, bus or private vehicle.
These projects are being developed, designed and delivered by KiwiRail, Waka Kotahi / NZ Transport Agency and Auckland Transport, in partnership with Mana Whenua.
30 years. It’s about getting ahead of the housing development to come and enabling that growth,” David Gordon, KiwiRail Chief Operating Officer – Capital Projects says.
“Working together to improve the transport network will lead to the best outcomes for the environment and people living in this community. It will provide more travel options, improve safety and help reduce transport emissions as people become less reliantontheircars.”
Drury Central and Paerata stations will include bike parking, cycleways, footpaths, road accessways and a Park & Ride. Feedback on the two stations is open until 17 December 2022.
Feedback on the third station – Drury West –will follow once planning approvals have been obtained. Planning approvals have been granted for Drury Central and Paerata stations. Construction of the stations is planned for 2023 and is expected to be completed by 2025.
The projects are part of a $2.7 billion suite of transportimprovements in Southern Auckland funded through the Government’s New Zealand Upgrade Programme (NZUP). Other projects include SH1 Papakura to Drury, Papakura to Pukekohe rail electrification and the Wiri to Quay Park rail project, which includes building a third main line between Westfield and Wiri junctions.
“These are important projects that will improve the transport network in Southern Auckland, where the population is expected to increase by more than 100,000 in the next
Roading upgrades by Waka Kotahi / NZ Transport Agency to Waihoehoe Road and SH22 will provide better links to the stations to better manage congestion and emissions, and to improve connections for communities, businesses and for goods to get to market.
“These projects are underway earlier than planned following the approval of preimplementation funding from the Government under the NZUP. Now we’re getting on with investigations, refining designs andengaginglandowners”says Waka Kotahi / NZ Transport Agency Director of Regional Relationships Steve Mutton.
The Waihoehoe Road improvements will provide access to the Drury Central rail station and the Drury Easthousing developmentarea.
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The SH22 upgrade will improve connections to the Drury Westhousing developmentarea.
The Waihoehoe Road upgrade is focused on the 400m between the intersections of Waihoehoe Rd/Great South Road and Waihoehoe Road/Kath Henry Lane which provides access to Drury Central station. It includes additional lanes, signalised intersections, a new, higher bridge over the North Island Main Trunk Line to enable the rail electrification, walking and bike paths separated from vehicles, and capacity for future bus lanes.
The SH22 upgrade project is located on 2km between the intersections of SH22/Mercer Street and SH22/Jesmond Road. It includes additional lanes, signalised intersections, walking and bike paths separated from vehicles, and a new Ngaakooroa Stream bridge with additional lanes to better connect to the Drury Interchange upgrade and built to be more resilient to flooding and the impacts of climate change.
As the NZUP has enabled earlier delivery of the Waihoehoe Road and SH22 Drury projects, Waka Kotahi / NZ Transport Agency has started re-engaging with landowners and the community to inform people of the new timeline and to understand potential impacts and site conditions to help with refining projectdesigns.
The partnership between Waka Kotahi / NZ Transport Agency, KiwiRail, Auckland Transport and Mana Whenua includes: Ngaati Te Ata Waiohua, Ngāti Tamaoho, Ngāi Tai ki Tāmaki, Te Ākitai Waiohua, Ngaati Whanaunga,NgātiMaru,NgātiPaoaIwiTrust, Ngāti Paoa Trust Board, Te Ahiwaru, Ngāti TamaterāTreatySettlementTrust.
Waka Kotahi / NZ Transport Agancy rethinks spending plans on back of lower demands for funding
The Transport Agency is in a $600 million hole and cutting spending targets on work
including improving local roads and public transportinfrastructure.
The squeeze on revenue is occurring alongside another big drop in the amount of work going on.
"Forecasted funding demand is much lower," Waka Kotahi / NZ Transport Agency chief executive Nicole Rosie said in an email to mayors.
This has forced its board to change its investment targets, for instance on the government's core Road to Zero strategy, as well as on:
• Publictransportinfrastructure
• Walking and cycling
• Local road improvements
• Investmentmanagement
"The lowering of some investment targets is not the result of Waka Kotahi / NZ Transport Agency cancelling or reprioritising any work programmes, it is simply reflecting [lower] forecastdemand,"Rosie told the councils.
"Many organisations have delayed the start of new projects or are delivering projects at a slower pace than originally forecast because of increased costs, funding pressures and supply disruptions."
At the same time, "project costs are higher than originally expected", she said.
Waka Kotahi / NZ Transport Agency CEO Nicole Rosie at the announcement of a new nation-wide single payment system for public transport journeys in Auckland on 21 October, 2022. The forecast drop in revenue has almost doubled since April when Treasury put itat$350m.
It equates to 5 per cent of the total revenues forecast when the 2021-24 National Land Transport Programme was agreed. The NLTP envisaged a record $24 billion spend on transportover the four years.
In total, the board's reduction in the target range for various activity classes amounted to as much as 4.5 per cent, or as little as 1 per cent, on about$15b on spending.
The wild winter has taken its toll.
Part of the driver for the revenue drop was that councils were having to prioritise emergency fix-itworks over planned transport projects, for example addressing slips, a Waka Kotahi / NZ Transport Agency spokesperson said.
"Funds [are] being diverted to address urgent, new or increased costs across wider council programmes; and councils [are] changing their priorities, for example, to better address the impacts of climate change."
The one area where the investment limit is being lifted is public transport services (as opposed to infrastructure), from $1.33b to a range between $1.37b-$1.48.
These services were costing Waka Kotahi / NZ Transport Agency more due to reduced fares revenue under Covid-19, diesel prices and drivers' wages rising, and an extra public holiday.
"We have increased this funding target to ensure we can continue to maintain current services and support the reduction in private vehicle use and carbon emissions,"Rosie said.
Changing investmenttargets was "normal".
"Itis important to emphasise thatat this stage we expect to be able to fund probable activities and meetall existing commitments."
However, she warned of "high levels of uncertainty" and "ongoing changes to programme delivery".
"It is unlikely we will be able to fund any new activities."
A large landslide fell onto three cars in Wellington's Sutherland Cresent, Melrose, on Saturday 20August, 2022.
The scale of emergency work meant there would be no cutback in the spending target for maintenance on both highways and local roads. Thatfunding mighteven rise.
"Should emergency events continue at the same frequency, adjustments may also be required to these activity class targets, potentially resulting in the need to offset across the programme,"Rosie wrote.
Investmentlimits also remain the same on:
• State highway improvements
• Rail
• Coastal shipping
The work that does not get done would probably spill over into the next National Land Transport Programme period of 2024-27, her email said.
"Our investment is targeted at safety," the agency spokesperson told RNZ.
"Across all the activity classes, we're working with councils to help them achieve the best outcomes for their communities."
Waka Kotahi / NZ Transport Agency co-funds repairs following storms at its normal assistance rate for local roads, but this is raised by 20 per cent if the total damage exceeds one-tenth of a council's entire maintenance programme for the year.
In April, media reports said Treasury had warned the government of further cuts to come as it slashed Waka Kotahi / NZ
Transport Agency 's forecast revenue take by $353m.
Treasury said the government might have to add to the $2b loan it has already given the agency to tide itover.
"We couldn't accept our roads deteriorating," Transport Minister Michael Wood said 14 months ago, aboutthis loan.
He added back then that Road to Zero was a top priority.
The minister has been approached for comment.
Rotorua cycleway to be removed for car parks
Twenty-nine car parks removed seven years ago as part of Rotorua's "Green Corridor" cycleway are set to return as a stretch of the cycleway is removed.
The removal, starting next week, will cost $50,000. The entire cycleway's construction cost$442,000 in 2015.
The announcement, made on Thursday, has been met with joy from one affected business, whose manager says the cycleway was rarely used.
The section to be removed, on Hinemoa StreetbetweenFentonand Tūtanekaistreets, will mean the reinstatement of about 29 car parks, including two mobility spaces and three motorcycle parks.
The parks will be a mix of free 60-minute time-limited parks and paid 180-minute parks.
Rotorua mayor Tania Tapsell was pleased the work would likely be completed ahead of the holiday season.
"We've listened to feedback and are taking action to help support local businesses and residents as we lead into a busy summer shopping period."
Rotorua Lakes Council infrastructure and environmental solutions deputy chief executive Stavros Michael said there were no plans at this stage for the removal of the rest of the Green Corridor.
"When the Green Corridor was installed we were still working on extending our shared path network.
"We now have an extended network throughout our city, a total of about 60 kilometres that link to and around the CBD, and a transport functionality review that provided options for the CBD determined that itcould be removed."
The council was able to fit the removal of the Hinemoa Street section of the Green Corridor into the current financial year, at a cost of about$50,000, Michael said.
"The rest will be looked at as part of development of CBD revitalisation plans that are still to be finalised."
Sulphur City Soapery owner Jackie Lunam said she "150 per cent"supported the removal.
"It is such a waste of money, it's a waste of space, there are no car parks, no one uses it."
It would "definitely" improve business and the removal made "sense", Lunam said.
"We have people come in and they've been driving around for ages trying to getcar parks.
"It's a real shame it didn't work because [the council] spentso much money on it."
Vault bar owner Ross Swenson, who had previously organised a petition against the Green Corridor that attracted 700 signatures, said the announcement was "absolutely brilliant".
"They should never have put it down in the firstplace."
He said he felt vindicated but didn't think it would take seven years for the cycleway to be removed.
Lotus Cafe and Bakery manager Amy Nguyen said itwas "very good news".
"We've got more car parks. It's what we've been waiting for, for a long time."
She said she did not like the cycleway and rarely saw people use it.
"It was hard for my customers to find a car park, they had to drive round and round and round."
It would improve business for the cafe, she said.
transport is not as frequent as it needs to be to make itreally accessible.
"We just haven't reached that critical mass and density of cycleways that we need to encourage everyone to use their bikes."
Depending on the weather or any other unexpected setbacks, it was expected the removal work would take up to two weeks, carried out by Fulton Hogan as part of its regular maintenance contract with the council, a statementsaid.
Businesses in the vicinity were being notified and disruption was expected to be minimal with footpaths - and at least one side of the road - expected to remain open throughout the work.
Road management would be in place if and when required.
The council statement said a review of the functionality of the inner-city transport network, and the potential removal of the Green Corridor, provided three options for the CBD, all of which included the removal of the cycleway.
Cycling enthusiast Jenny Lux said she believed that particular section was "poorly designed" but cycleways should be considered as networks.
"There does need to be a more straightforward path through the city for bikes.
"I don'treally like the piecemeal approach.
"If you're going to remove a tiny portion of an existing cycleway, how does that help the continuity of the cycleway?
"Bikes and active transport do need to be prioritised even more, rather than minimised.
"The reason people are so dependent on cars and parking in the centre is because public
CBD revitalisation work was "still in its preliminary stages" following work with the Covid recovery inner-city group and preengagement with stakeholders on a framework that "pulled together common themes and elements from previous CBD plans".
The framework would form the basis for further discussion and considerations.
Council district development deputy chief executive Jean-Paul Gaston clarified there had been five previous inner-city plans, spanning 2006, 2010, 2015, 2018 and 2020, which were now being drawn on for the new inner-city strategy. Some elements of those plans had been implemented.
"One aspect the framework looks at is making better use of Haupapa St as a slower, safer
park-to-park link between the Government Gardens and Kuirau Park," the council statementsaid.
"Speeds in and around the CBD will also be reviewed with a view to improving safety for all users.
"Final options for the CBD have yet to be developed and removal of the rest of the Green Corridor will be considered as part of this work."
The Green Corridor was initially recommended as part of a 2006 CBD revitalisation strategy that also included the establishment of Eat Street - a pedestrianised eating precinct at the northern end of TūtanekaiStreet near the Rotorua lakefront.
It also included replacing City Focus with Te Manawa.
At the time, the Green Corridor "aligned with Rotorua's urban cycling strategy", the council statement said, and was a collaboration between the council, Rotorua Cycle Action and the former Inner City Focus Group, which represented CBDretailers and businesses.
After a consultation process the project was included in the 2015-2025 Long-term Plan and was completed in September 2015.
Ata cost of $442,000, funding was made up of $252,000 from Waka Kotahi / NZ Transport Agency and $190,000 from the council.
"Due to changes requested by businesses in Haupapa St, the final cost was $72,000 higher than originally budgeted."
Fifty of the CBD's more than 3000 parks were removed to make way for the entire Green Corridor project, 29of those on Hinemoa St.
At the time, those car parks had a 39 per cent occupancy.
Taupo Council urges changes to main highway
Taupō District Council is demanding changes to the main road on the eastern side of the lake following a truck rolling off the road on Sunday.
It says warnings to Waka Kotahi / NZ Transport Agency about the safety of State Highway One have fallen on deaf ears.
The truck was carrying krill oil and milk powder, forcing the road to close for more than twenty four hours as the spillage was cleaned up.
Chief executive Gareth Green says the council has warned the transport agency this could happen for years.
HOFMANN Expo 2022
This month NZRF Executive Committee Member Gareth Noble attended the HOFMANN Expo 2022 in Rellingen near Hamburg, Germany.
• Jan Hofmann (Hofmann GmbH(Germany)) Different types of road marking material on the same machine
• Harald Mosböck (Swarco AG (Austria)) Road markings and automated vehicles - an update on initiatives around the world
• Nils Katzorke (Mercedes Benz AG (Germany)) Automated Vehicle Development at the Mercedes-Benz Proving Ground in Immendingen: Road Marking Projects.
For the 23nd time, HOFMANN Road Marking Technology has invited high-level trade professionals from all over the world to its company site in Germany to attend the HOFMANN Technology- Day.
This year there was over 750 delegates from around the world including delegates from New Zealand and Australia.
• Dr. Alexander Klein (Röhm GmbH (Germany)) Reduction of the CO2 balance taking into account the circular economy.
The day was informative, enjoyable and made all the better with the warm German hospitality of our host Hofmann GmbH, and of course the “Roadmarkers Bar” was well received after a hearty German lunch of local cuisine and to finish off the day a social meal and more networking at Montgomery Champs Restaurantnot far from the Hofmann offices.
There were a number of technical presentations, the details of which will be made available to members once they have been published on Hofmann’s website, of particular interest was the presentations from Harald Mosböck, regarding Roadmarking and Automated Vehicles and from, Nils Katzorke regardingAutomated vehicle development.
These areas are of particular interest to the wider roadmarking industry as Automated Vehicles rely heavily on presence and standard of roadmarking as highlighted previously in our Roadmarking News Edition 150 August 2021 Re: Austroads Research Report AP-R633-20 Implications of Pavement Markings for Machine Vision.
All technical presentations were:
Some flood-damaged Marlborough Sounds roads might never be "put back", a roading boss has conceded, as an engineering company is brought in to look at the long-term "levels of service" to isolated communities.
Marlborough Roads manager Steve Murrin told Ōkiwi Bay residents at a flood recovery meeting last week that the Marlborough District Council had been told by Waka Kotahi / NZ Transport Agency it needed to "create a network back in the Sounds that is sustainable" if it wanted more funding.
"Before we can do repairs, we need to undertake the study to see what level of service and how we are going to put these roads back, if in fact we are going to put the roads back," Murrin said.
"There's probably going to be some places in the Sounds that we might not be able to put the road back."
Meanwhile, the council last week approved getting engineering consultants Stantec NZ to investigate Marlborough's roading network.
Council chief executive Mark Wheeler said the Stantec work was all about the long-term future and "how far we go".
Wheeler said any changes to the level of service in the Sounds would have to go out for public consultation, and nothing was "predetermined".
"It will look at the economic and community effects on different levels of service. Do we go further? Make it even more resilient? That's the sort of thing they will be addressing," Wheeler said.
"Once all of that comes forward ... we look at alternative access proposals if we do have any.
"It's really significant for those communities, if there are changes to levels of service, so they need to have a say."
Nearly 4000 faults had been identified in Marlborough's roading network as a result of four days of heavy rain in August. That number was still growing, and was more than double that of the damage caused following heavy rain in July 2021.
Waka Kotahi / NZ Transport Agency agreed in 2021 to give the council more than $80 million to help fix the region's roads. Following the August deluge, in 2022, the council asked to use some of the money it had left over to help repair the more recent damage, which it considered a "priority".
The upcoming Stantec study was a condition of reallocating the Waka Kotahi / NZ Transport Agency funding. It would look at the cost of repairs, climate change, land stability, safety, alternatives to road if necessary, community and economic impacts of access changes and housing land stability risks.
In a separate report presented to full council, Wheeler also warned Marlborough could face further storms, and repair costs, due to climate change. This would require significant rates increases.
'Struggling to make progress': AA says Road to Zero safety campaign requires 'a lot more work', road toll heading for 370380 fatalities this year
The Automobile Association says the Government's Road to Zero safety campaign is "struggling to make progress" as Aotearoa's road toll could reach 370 - 380 this year.
AA spokesperson Dylan Thomsen told AM "a lot more" work could be done to improve the country's state highway networks.
"A key thing would be medium barriers. I know some people can question them or not like them that much, the reality is - if you put a medium barrier down a highway, generally you're looking at a 60 per cent reduction in fatal and serious crashes."
He added more police should be on our roads and their presence should be felt as strong as it used to be.
Thomsen told AM, among other things - a shift in culture is needed too.
"We've still got a 'she'll be right' attitude, and most of the time it will be right but every now and then [it won't be]."
Some Marlborough Sounds roads no longer 'sustainable' after floods
New Zealand 2022 road death toll on track to be worst in decade
The great NZ slowdown: Why road speed limits are being cut
This year is tracking toward having the highest roading death toll in more than a decade, writes Julia Gabel.
When 5-year-old Jaxx Hands sees a photo of his grandmother, he goes quiet. He used to say, "yay, Nana!" but now he walks away in silence.
It seems New Zealand is about to slow down, with proposals to reduce urban speed limits right across the country, as well as on state highways. And while there has been some resistance, the evidence suggests it’s the right move.
The changes are part of Waka Kotahi / NZ Transport Agency ’s Road to Zero project, which tasked local councils with developing speed management plans to reduce transport-related deaths.
His grandmother, 56-year-old Greymouth woman Kathy Sexton, is one of almost 300 people whose lives have been cut short this year by car crashes.
New Zealand is tracking towards having the highest roading death tolls in more than a decade with 296 deaths as of October 20. This is almost the same as this point in 2018 which, along with 2017, were the worst years since 2009.
Meanwhile, government agencies say there is no "silver bullet" to addressing the country's road safety issues and if it weren't for the work done so far, the road fatality statistics would be worse.
An annual road toll is provisional until a few months after a year has ended, meaning it can change when more information on a crash comes to light.
Crash fatalities can be excluded from the toll in some circumstances, including if the crash was intentional or related to a medical event. Deaths that happen 30 days after a crash are not included in the toll.
Generally,
There’s no doubt speed is a major factor in the number of deaths and injuries on New Zealand roads. It causes more injuries than alcohol and drugs, and it’s estimated that 87 per cent of current speed limits are incorrectly set.
But there’s a counterargument that speed limits should only be reduced in “high-risk areas”, with school environs being the most common example. Widespread speed limit reduction, the argument goes, will waste drivers’ time and damage the economy.
But this assumes the only way speed limits affect society is through crash-related deaths and injuries, and through time lost travelling. So it’s important we recognise the other significant benefits that come from slowing traffic down.
The risk of injury or death if you are hit by a vehicle is substantially lower at speeds below 50km/h. At 40km/h, for example, the risk of dying drops from around 90 per cent to around 10 per cent. For injuries, greater reductions are seen at speeds of 20 or 30km/h.
those plans will set 30 kilometre per hour limits around schools and 40km/h limits in many residential areas of Auckland, Wellington, Christchurch and Dunedin.
Research in the UK found the introduction of 20 miles per hour (mp/h) zones resulted in a 42 per cent reduction in road casualties, and the reduction was greatest in younger children. There was also no evidence of more people moving to drive on adjacent streets with higher speed limits.
Recent research in Wales, a country with a population of 3.1 million that implemented a default urban speed limit of 30km/h, found the economic value of savings from lower accident rates to be in the region of NZ$180m in the first year alone. The total value is far greater if other benefits are included.
What statistics don’t show is the reality of suffering road crash deaths and injuries cause. But survivors’ stories, such as those recorded by transportation consultant Jeanette Ward, also powerfully demonstrate how lower speeds can save lives.
But what of the argument that slowing drivers down and prolonging trips means the economy will suffer? There are two answers to this.
The first is that evidence shows lower speed limits in urban areas add virtually no time to journeys. You can see why in this simple simulation that compares traffic with different speed limits.
The second is that people don’t always productively use the time saved by faster travel. In fact, research suggests people often choose to travel further, especially for their daily commute. Making journeys faster can also encourage people to travel more often. This is called induced demand and it adds to congestion.
Furthermore, there is a reasonably established relationship between the speed a vehicle travels and greenhouse gas emissions, with the lowest emissions being produced when a vehicle travels at around 55-80km/h.
However, this assumes a vehicle is moving smoothly, without stops and starts. Higher emissions are created when a vehicle has to repeatedly brake and accelerate. While individual driver behaviour can be a factor, the road environment and volume of traffic play a role too.
Research has actually found that in urban areas the optimum speed limit to minimise emissions for small petrol cars is 28.2km/h. For larger vehicles, diesel and SUVs, CO2 emissions are minimised with amaximum speed of 20km/h.
Nitrogen dioxide from traffic is estimated to cause 2000 deaths each year in New Zealand. Emissions are lowest with 20km/h speed limits.
The World Health Organization estimates traffic noise is the second-biggest environmental stressor on public health after air pollution. Lower speeds significantly reduce noise, with research finding that “in urban areas with speeds of between 30 and 60km/h, reducing speeds by 10mp/h would cut noise levels by up to 40 per cent”.
Overall, reduced speed limits in urban areas would not only reduce injuries and deaths but would also make our towns and cities better places to live.
Costco roads aren’t built to handle traffic demands, admits AT
Traffic jams forming on the roads around Auckland’s brand new Costco and the nearby NorthWest shopping mall are here to stay – and they’re likely to get much worse in the build-up to Christmas.
Northwest Shopping Centre, opened in 2015 and was dubbed a “ghost mall” for many years after it was built. The opening of Costco has changed that, bringing shoppers out to the West Auckland centre in their droves and causing traffic chaos on surrounding streets, especially on weekends.
NorthWest has requested support from Auckland Transport to alleviate the issue, but a spokesperson told The Spinoff this morning there was little they could do – especially when it came to a problematic and confusing “shared zone” on Maki Street used by pedestrians, cyclists, cars, trucks, courier drivers, cyclists and motorbikes.
“The road network does not appear to have been designed to cater for the demand experienced at present”, a spokesperson said.
Auckland Transport admitted the problem wasn’t going away anytime soon. “We anticipate delays will get worse over the Christmas Shopping period and we have not even started implementing the signal timing changes to align with the desired operating protocols to protect the Shared Space section of Maki Street.
Bad weather delaying road works progress
Heavy rain late last week caused a number of slips and isolated flooding, especially across the Coromandel Peninsula.
While poor weather at this time of year is frustrating for contractors, there isn’t much that can be done, says Waka Kotahi / NZ Transport Agency Waikato system manager Cara Lauder.
Teens‘ car pulled from Tauranga‘s harbour
A car is being pulled out of the Tauranga Harbour on Chapel Street this afternoon, after what a pair of 19year-olds say “was an accident” in the early hours of Sunday morning.
Many people gathered on the side of the road to watch the car being returned to land, which was completely submerged in water prior to the recovery.
“A lot of our renewal work is weather dependent; we need warm, dry weather to lay asphalt or chipseal. Attempting to complete this work when the weather isn’t ideal can lead to both short and long-term issues.
“We also know that we are still in the early stages of our renewal season; it is important that we make the right call and pause work if the weather is not on our side. With events such as Beach Hop coming up, we want to ensure the network is in the right condition to provide a great experience.
“There will be a big push over the next month as we head towards the Christmas/New Year break. There will be an increasing number of crews on the network, and road users need to be prepared for delays on a number of routes.
“As always, the Waka Kotahi / NZ Transport Agency Journey Planner (www.journeys.nzta.govt.nz) is the best tool to use on the day of travel, as this provides real-time updates on the network.”
Across the Waikato and Bay of Plenty region more than 700 lane kilometres of state highway will be rebuilt or resealed, all to be completed by the end of the second quarter of 2023.
The occupants of the vehicle, both aged 19, say a “hydroplane” was “mainly” at fault for the incident which occurred at “about 1.30am” on Sunday, November 20.
“We hit the white line which was covered in water, and then we lost control and pretty much flew off into the harbour backwards,” says the driver.
“It basically spun us out.”
The pair say they were “only going 60km/h ish” or “about 10km/h over the speed limit” when the car lost control.
The passenger of the vehicle says the vehicle was “completely underwater” after they crashed, and he was able to “just open the door” to exit the vehicle.
The driver says he “has no clue” how he was able to get out safely.
“I think I went out through the back. The car went down into the water pretty far.”
When asked about injuries, the 19 year old pair add there is “just a couple bruises” after the event.
"Reckon it [the car] will still work." one of them adds.
Hurunui's roading quandary
How to fund rural roads and make them resilient is an ongoing challenge for the Hurunui District Council.
The council maintains one of the largest roading networks per capita in the country with 1460km of local roads, excluding State Highways 1 and 7, with a relatively small ratepayer base.
The population is around 13,000, meaning there was around 112 metres of road per person.
rural areas due to the distance, the nature of the rural sector and vehicle design.
“Small vehicles are designed for urban roads, so rural communities are pushed more to SUVs and fourwheel drives.”
Incentives for moving to electric vehicles were introduced under the previous National government and Waimakariri MP Matt Doocey said it was time to rethink howroading was funded.
“As we move to Net Zero (emissions) by 2050, we’ve got to make sure we maintain our roading network.”
The whole thing needs to be looked at, including the settings around small councils with a low ratepayer base and high kilometres to fund.’’
A spokesperson for Transport Minister Michael Wood said the government had increased investment in low emission transport choices, including walking and cycling, public transport and electric vehicles, as well as infrastructure.
Hurunui District Council chief executive Hamish Dobbie said the roads were designed for an earlier time and were not equipped to cope with today’s heavier vehicles and more frequent rain events.
Roading was funded 52 per cent from Waka Kotahi / NZ Transport Agency’s One Network Fund (ONF), but when there was a funding shortfall ratepayers were left to pick up the full cost.
The funding was largely for maintenance, though the council could apply for emergency funding after severe weather events.
“Hurunui roads have been rated lowly in the ONF, and historically we have had low maintenance costs due to being a dry weather district,” Mr Dobbie said.
“But with more frequent weather events, our resilience is being impacted. Our network is not designed for those events, so it needs capital works rather than maintenance.”
Mayor Marie Black said larger vehicles, such as stock trucks and milk tankers, provided economic value to the country, but the council did not always get the funding support it needed.
‘‘We are stuck in the bind of not being able to meet the needs and expectations of our community.’’
While the push was to low emission vehicles, Mr Dobbie said those options did not work as well in
A total of $1.2 billion was forecast to be invested in Canterbury in the 2021–24 National Land Transport Programme (NLTP).
A Waka Kotahi / NZ Transport Agency spokesperson said the agency was developing a Climate Change Adaptation Plan in the wake of climate change and increased severe weather events.
It hoped to release the plan by the end of the year, before developing a separate implementation plan.
‘Annus horribilis’ of roading resilience
The resilience of state highways, making alternative routes fit for purpose and the reason there are so many potholes are just some of the topics being talked about at the moment.
“This is annus horribilis in terms of resilience challenges,” Waka Kotahi / NZ Transport Agency Waikato-Bay of Plenty relationships regional director David Speirs told Ōpōtiki District Council at its first meeting since the elections.
“You’ll know this from your own personal experiences. Everywhere in the network has struggled with weather events.
“What those weather events have highlighted is, where we have a closure of a major network, we have very limited alternative route provision and
often those alternative routes are not suitable for the vehicles travelling on them. Very large trucks, for example, or even in some cases emergency vehicles.”
“It’s no secret we’ve got some pothole issues at the moment. Much of that is driven by decisions made some years ago to take a minimalist approach to the maintenance of the network in favour of funding some large infrastructure projects.
“We are now starting to see the impact of that minimalist approach.”
He says that as a result, Waka Kotahi / NZ Transport Agency is now having to invest quite heavily in renewals and in maintenance of the network to get it back up to speed.
David talked the council through Waka Kotahi / NZ Transport Agency ’s investment process to help them understand where their biggest influence as a council could be in expressing their community’s needs.
Talking about the issue of road safety, David says the Bay of Plenty-Waikato region has one of the highest death and serious injury rates in the country, partly due to how much the roading network was in use because of how spread out our communities were.
He says alongside Ōpōtiki, Gisborne, Coromandel, Taranaki, and some parts of the South Island have been identified by the transport agency as “hotspots” both in the context of where the weak points were, but also as critical lifelines to communities.
“State Highway 2 and State Highway 35, in your case, have already been identified as having significant issues from a geotechnical point of view, but also from a lifelines point of view, so they are critical; there is only one way in, there’s only one way out.”
He says Waka Kotahi / NZ Transport Agency is assessing alternative routes.
“We are looking at, whether we can be confident that, if the state highway is closed for any reason - be it a crash, be it a washout - that the alternative routes that we are relying on are fit for purpose.
“It’s going to be an enormous job, but that will identify the one-lane bridge that’s not capable of carrying a milk tanker, the gravel road that will fall apart if you put 1000 cars a day instead of 50 on it for three days.”
David says he will be working with councils to help identify these areas over the next few months, but it will be a lengthy process.
He also addressed the issue of potholes on state highways, saying it’s due to less funding provided for maintenance.
“Unfortunately, those networks were built back in the 1940s and 50s.
“They weren’t built with 58 tonne trucks in mind. They weren’t built with speeds of 100kmh-plus in mind.
“They weren’t built with the number of vehicles that we’ve got now in mind.
“As a consequence of that, we tend to score way above anyone else in terms of deaths and serious injuries. Reducing that is quite a high priority for us.”
Roading Sector Converges On Hamilton
Over 310 delegates registered for the conference and exhibition which was held at Claudelands Events Centre. The event includes an exhibition and equipment display.
The conference featured a strong delegation from local government across New Zealand, Waka Kotahi / NZ Transport Agency, and major roading contractors and engineers.
Key themes included: leadership and strategy; procurement; regulation; materials; sustainability and technology.
Self-driving trucks hit the road for Australia’s first live-traffic trial
A self-driving truck will begin trials on Melbourne’s CityLink from today, marking the first time a truck of this kind has been tested on public Australian roads.
Transurban, which owns the CityLink toll road, says trials of the self-driving connected and automated truck will help them to better understand how roads and road technology can be future-proofed to prepare for these sorts of vehicles sharing the road in the future.
about future infrastructure and operations. Getting a solid understanding of automated trucks’ interfacing technology is especially important given road freight is projected to grow steadily in the coming decades,” said Transurban.
“These trucks have the potential to transform the freight industry, helping to move more goods more often and better supporting the needs of both businesses and consumers, so paving the way for their ready adoption is a smart move for everyone.”
Trials with driver assistance have already been conducted, however this time the automated truck will be driving itself.
While the truck’s automated features will be in operation, a specially trained safety driver will be on board at all times. Among the three safety drivers is Breanne Turner, who told the Herald Sun that this was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.
“I feel really lucky,” she said to the Melbourne newspaper. “Driving an automated truck removes a lot of the mental burden of driving a normal, non-automated truck.”
“You’re able to focus a lot more on what’s going on around you instead of worrying about managing your speed, steering, and giving enough room to cars around the truck.”
Previous trials tested how the sensors in these vehicles interpret their immediate surroundings (for example, line markings and variable speed limit signs). This time, Transurban will be testing how the truck and road communicate, by providing real-time data about traffic and road conditions to guide it on its journey.
“The trials will enable us to capture valuable insights which will help us, and our government and industry partners, make informed decisions
According to Transurban, the road chosen for this trial, CityLink, is one of the most technologically sophisticated roads in the world, with embedded technology including more than 600 CCTV cameras, automatic incident detection systems and smart sensors to monitor for traffic incidents such as debris and stopped vehicles.
During the trial, real-time data from CityLink’s systems will be fed directly to the CAV truck, enabling it to understand road and traffic conditions beyond its sensors.
The on-road trials will be conducted at night, when traffic is typically light. The vehicle will travel on a 27.5km route in a dedicated lane from Todd Road on the West Gate Freeway, through both the Burnley and Domain tunnels and onto the CityLink/Monash Freeway, finishing at Warrigal Road. The self-driving truck will then turn around and return along the same route.
According to Transurban, a lot of preparation went on before the self-driving truck could move onto the on-road trial phase. The truck underwent rigorous testing at the Australian Automotive Research Centre in Anglesea, with Transurban and the vehicle’s provider, the Taiwan Industrial Technology Research Institute, putting the truck through its paces in various controlled conditions.
Pilot vehicles will also accompany the truck initially, and Transurban’s team of 24/7 traffic control officers will also be monitoring the road and conditions using CityLink’s system of CCTV cameras andmonitoring systems.
The trials are expected to conclude in midDecember.
Pioneering technology makes way for fairer road use charges
Kapsch TrafficCom and its partner Aventi Intelligent Communication have conducted a pilot project in Norway where they tested a new tolling technology. The target of the project (conducted during the summer months) was to find out how fee collection for passenger cars is possible based on the vehicle type, its emissions class and the kilometers driven.
the first time offer a practicable and user-friendly instrument for passenger cars as well.
Flintshire's faded road markings highlighted as a concern
Faded road markings across Flintshire are a ‘recipe for disaster’ as winter approaches, a councillor has said.
At a meeting of Flintshire Council’s Environment scrutiny committee, Buckley Pentrobin Cllr Dennis Hutchinson (Ind) sought assurances the authority had not changed its policy on renewing road markings.
He said he feared for motorists with less than perfect eyesight as lines and markings, particularly at roundabouts, had almost disappeared in some places.
“I am concerned still about the road markings in certain places, and I’m not just talking about Buckley”, Cllr Hutchinson said.
The background to this is the rapid decline in vehicle-related tax revenues, particularly due to the high proportion of electric vehicles in Norway – a problem that more and more countries will face in the coming years. The project serves as input to the ‘concept selection study’ that was conducted by Norwegian authorities regarding the principles of determining and collecting future road user charges and tolls.
“In total, more than two million kilometers of trips, or about 50 laps around the earth, were analyzed,” says Alfredo Escriba, chief technical officer at Kapsch TrafficCom. “The system was able to handle the challenging environments of the Norwegian road network, matching routes and calculating rates with an accuracy level above 99%.”.
Road user charging can compensate for the loss of tax revenue by governments, while also offering a fair and transparent charging system for road users. While this type of charging is already established for trucks, the tested system could for
“The worst offenders seem to be roundabouts in places across the county, and I travel the county quite a lot. They are almost obliterated in some instances.
“I’m pushing it on account that there may be people getting on in years and their eyesight could be failing quite a bit.”
Cllr Hutchinson gave an example of the Wylfa roundabout in Mold where he thinks the road markings are in particularly poor condition.
He added: “The roundabout at the bottom of the Wylfa hill in Mold is a classic case where the road markings on that are pretty poor.
“Once the marking has gone there is no mark there showing where you can be on the left-hand side of the roundabout or the right-hand side of the roundabout as you are going around.
“It’s almost everywhere you go. It’s important we pay due diligence for the public that use these roads.
“I think it’s a recipe for disaster particularly with these dark nights.”
The council’s chief officer for Streetscene and Transportation, Katie Wilby assured Cllr Hutchinson there had been no policy change when it comes to renewing road markings, but that councillors needed to raise areas where they have concerns so they can be prioritised for renewal.
She said: “I’m happy to discuss those with Cllr Hutchinson if he’s got any particular concerns in his ward or other areas of the county.
“Equally other members can let me know of any concerns they’ve got about road marking elsewhere.
“The policy hasn’t changed but obviously we can’t be everywhere 24/7, so if you are aware of particular junctions or areas where the lines are faded then please let us know and we can put those forward for priority for being replaced.”
Deputy leader of the council, Llanfynydd Cllr Dave Hughes (Lab), lead member for Streetscene and Transportation added that he felt council staff using the roads daily should also be flagging issues up.
He said: “I take the point and support what Cllr Hutchinson is saying but we’ve got enough of our own vehicles going round. They should be reporting these back as well.”
20mph speed limits have little impact on road safety, research suggests
Irish Researchers analysed data from before and after the limit was introduced on 76 roads in central Belfast in 2016.
The study found “little impact on long-term outcomes” in the city.
Comparisons with streets in the surrounding area and elsewhere in Northern Ireland that retained their 30pmh or 40pmh limit showed there were “no statistically significant differences” in terms of the number of crashes, casualty rates or average traffic speed.
Roads with a 20mph limit did experience a reduction in traffic, according to the report published online in the Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health.
The authors of the report, who include Professor Ruth Hunter of Queen’s University Belfast and Dr Ruth Jepson of the University of Edinburgh, noted that their research was smaller in scale than some other studies on the topic.
They added that reducing speed limits is “not simply a road-safety intervention” but can be “part of the fundamental reset of the way we choose our life priorities – people before cars”.
Schemes to cut speed limits to 20mph have become increasingly popular in the UK and other parts of Europe in recent years as part of effort to reduce crashes and injuries.
RAC road safety spokesman Simon Williams said: “The findings of this study are surprising as they appear to suggest that drivers on 20mph roads in Belfast hardly slowed down at all, despite the lower speed limit, which is at odds with other reports.
“It seems there is a serious problem with compliance as we would expect that even without enforcement, average speeds would drop.
“Consequently, the study may demonstrate a need for councils to find other ways to get drivers to slow down, whether that’s through enforcement or modifying road design with traffic islands, welldesigned speed humps or chicanes.”
She went on: “It is a matter of physics. At speeds of 20mph or less, drivers have significantly more chance to spot hazards and stop in time.
“The difference between a 20mph limit and a 30mph limit is a doubled stopping distance.”
A new report suggests that cutting speed limits on urban roads to 20mph does not significantly improve safety in the same week as another report for the Welsh Government claimed that the policy would save lives and money.
training, CCTV and police communications to “facilitate an ambitious culture change that shifts populations away from the car-dominant paradigm”.
It added that reducing speed limits is “not simply a road-safety intervention” but can be “part of the fundamental reset of the way we choose our life priorities – people before cars”.
RAC road safety spokesman Simon Williams said: “The findings of this study are surprising as they appear to suggest that drivers on 20mph roads in Belfast hardly slowed down at all, despite the lower speed limit, which is at odds with other reports.
“It seems there is a serious problem with compliance as we would expect that even without enforcement, average speeds would drop.
The Welsh Government is developing plans to change the default speed limit from the current 30mph to 20mph on all roads where motorists mix with cyclists and pedestrians.
It wouldn’t mean that all roads would be at the lower limit as local councils will make the final decisionin each case.
However the assumption would change, with a decision having to be made not to make aroad 20mph.
The latest report, published in the Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health, analysed data from before and after the limit was introduced on 76 roads in central Belfast in 2016.
Comparisons with streets in the surrounding area and elsewhere in Northern Ireland that retained their 30mph or 40mph limit showed there were “no statistically significant differences” in terms of the number of crashes, casualty rates or average traffic speed.
Roads with a 20mph limit did experience a reduction in traffic, according to the authors of the report, who include Professor Ruth Hunter of Queen’s University Belfast and Dr Ruth Jepson of the University of Edinburgh.
The report said that 20mph limits could be combined with other measures such as driver
“Consequently, the study may demonstrate a need for councils to find other ways to get drivers to slow down, whether that’s through enforcement or modifying road design with traffic islands, welldesigned speed humps or chicanes.”
Mary Williams, chief executive of road safety charity Brake, described 20mph limits as “lifesaving”, particularly for pedestrians and people riding bicycles andmotorbikes.
She went on: “It is a matter of physics. At speeds of 20mph or less, drivers have significantly more chance to spot hazards and stop in time.
“The difference between a 20mph limit and a 30mph limit is a doubled stopping distance.”
Earlier this week another report was published based on research conducted by theTransport Research Institute (TRI) at Edinburgh Napier University, in conjunction with Public Health Wales.
It estimated that a new default 20mph speed limit on residential roads across Wales will save around £100m in the first year alone.
The new 20mph default speed limit is estimated to save more than 100 lives over a decade and 14,000 casualties in total could be avoided, according to the research.
Welsh Government sticking with 20mph plan as report claims it doesn't make roads safer
Want Safe Roads? LSU Researchers Think Artificial Intelligence Can Help Us Understand Driver Behaviour
The number of fatal car crashes involving large trucks continues to rise, according to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration whose mission is to reduce crashes, injuries and fatalities involvinglarge trucks and buses.
LSU Center for Analytics and Research in Transportation Safety, or CARTS, was awarded one of these competitive grants to build an artificial intelligence, or AI, engine to better understand driver behavior thatleads to crashes in order to help preventthem.
"We have very good information on crashes on roads. Butwe don'thave information regarding driving behavior on roads thatmay lead to crashes. This grantwill help to provide information aboutdriver behavior on roads, especially around commercial vehicles,"said HelmutSchneider, CARTS executive director and the Ourso Family Distinguished Professor of Information Systems in the E. J. Ourso College of Business, who is the lead principal investigator on this project.
In Louisiana, the number of fatal commercial vehicle crashes jumped by more than 28 per centfrom 89fatalities in 2020 to 114fatalities on 2021, according to Cory Hutchinson, the director of CARTS, who is a co-principal investigator on this project. More detailed information aboutcrash data are published at carts.lsu.edu.
"I've known people who have survived car crashes, especially those involving large, commercial trucks, and I know they can be devastating,"said computer scientistSupratik Mukhopadhyay, who is an LSU Departmentof Environmental Science professor and coprincipal investigator on this grant.
Based on an AI engine trained by Mukhopadhyay, the researchers will analyze videos obtained from video cameras to identify high-risk trafficsituations around commercial vehicles.
With more than $950,000in supportfrom the U.S. Departmentof Transportation, the researchers will be able to build dashboards which provide insights into whatfactors contribute to crashes with commercial motor vehicles and how distracted driving plays a role.
For instance, a couple of years ago there was an increase in sideswipe crashes with commercial trucks on Interstate-10 in New Orleans.
"Itwas suspected thatsome may have been staged by car drivers. These types of crashes could be identified by cameras,"Schneider said. "Analyzing videos using AI will further help us as researchers to better understand whatleads to a crash."
This is the third competitive grantfrom the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration thatCARTS researchers at LSU have been able to attract, which will help Louisiana to improve road safety. The two-year projectwill culminate in data dashboards thatidentify major risk factors that cause crashes to help inform where and when resources can best be deployed to reduce vehicle crashes.
Advanced safety tech really does save lives
A study of more than 12 million car crashes in the US has proven advanced safety tech – such as autonomous emergency braking and forward
collision warning – reduces the chances of motorists being injured by more than 50 per cent.
A landmark US study has found advanced safety technology nearly halves the chances of drivers having a nose-to-tail fender-bender.
The study – conducted on behalf of the Partnership for Analytics Research in Traffic Safety (PARTS) – investigated the effectiveness of forward collision warning (FCW) and autonomous emergency braking systems (AEB).
AEB is due to become compulsory in all newlyintroduced models in Australia from March 2023, while all new motor vehicles sold in Australia –regardless of when they were originally introduced – will be required to have the technology from March 2025.
PARTS collected data from 12 million policereported crashes in the US between January 2016 and August 2021. The data was supplied by the US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA).
The study also accessed vehicle data for 19 models from eight major car-makers (Honda, General Motors, Mazda, Mitsubishi, Nissan, Stellantis, Subaru and Toyota) built between 2015 and 2020 – representing approximately 47 million cars on US roads.
While these systems are intended as a failsafe rather than to be relied upon, the study showed they nearly halve the likelihood of being involved in a front-to-rear crash, while reducing the risk of injury by more than 50 per cent.
According to the study, vehicles are 49 per cent more likely to avoid a nose-to-tail crash if they are equipped with forward collision warning and autonomous emergency braking.
When only forward collision warning is fitted to a vehicle, the chances of a crash are only reduced by 13 per cent.
The study found when both systems are combined, the likelihood of motorists suffering injuries in a crash decreased by 53 per cent – while the warning-only system reduced the crash rate by 19 per cent.
This data suggests that while nose-to-tail car crashes does not always eliminate contact, the
technology reduces the speed of the car before an impact, resulting in less severe injuries.
PARTS added serious crashes are also 42 per cent less likely to occur on vehicles equipped with advanced safety features.
The organisation conducted further testing on the effectiveness of lane departure warning, lane keeping assistance, and lane change assistance systems, finding they are less effective than noseto-tail tech at reducing crashes.
A combination of the three lane-related systems was found to reduce the chances of a crash by nine per cent and the likelihood of injury by eight per cent – however serious crashes were decreased by 16 per cent.
The study found pedestrian autonomous emergency braking systems were considerably less effective than any other safety technology –resulting in a four per cent reduction in overall collisions, and a two per cent decline in serious injuries.
The US had the deadliest start to the year in two decades when 9560 road users were killed from January to March 2022 – the highest road toll for the three-month period since 2002.
Last year, the NHTSA recorded the highest US road toll in 16 years, when 42,915 drivers, passengers and other road users were killed throughout the 12-month period.
Between August 2020 and August 2021, Australia’s road toll increased by 1.6 per cent compared to the 12 months prior, with 1126 people dying on the country’s roads.
In September, the Australian Automobile Association (AAA) reported 1172 road users had died in Australia from August 2021 to August 2022 – a 4.1 per cent increase on the year prior.
NZTA/NZRF T 8 and T 12
The T 8 and T 12 applicator testing programme is a key component of industry self-regulation.
NZTA P 22 specification states in Section 6: At the time of tender contractors shall forward copies of current T/8 certificates for the plant they propose to use on the contract. The applicator(s) certification is to be kept valid for the period of the contract.
There is a .pdf version of the applicator certificates associated with each registration line.
Originals of certificates are no longer being mailed to contractors and the website register is evidence of registration.
These can be accessed via a hyperlink from the certificate registration number.
The certificates include a photograph of the applicator.
T 12 certificates include schedules setting out the scope of certification covering plain flat markings, structured markings and audio-tactile markings or any combinations of these.
