Upgrade for crash magnet roundabout

With 71 crashes in five years, a Hamilton roundabout is too risky for city leaders who are set to put the brakes on motorists as they drive into it. Jonah Franke-Bowell reports.

Amajor Hamilton roundabout that is a magnet for crashes is in line for an upgrade. The Gordonton Rd/Wairere Drive intersection in the city’s northeast handles on average 33,000 vehicle movements a day and, with 71 crashes between 2017 and 2022, the reason for the upgrade is simple: safety.

Hamilton City Council staff have drawn up three options for councillors to chew over at tomorrow’s infrastructure and transport committee but only one of them comes with their stamp of approval: namely, four raised safety tables installed to reduce entry speeds into the roundabout.

Slated to cost $1.6 million, the improvements would feature on all entrances bar Crosby Rd, which was excluded because of its preexisting lower speed and its status as an access route for emergency services.

Other options broached are the installation of traffic signals on approaches to the existing intersection at an estimated cost of up to $8 million and the complete removal of the roundabout and replacement with both traffic signals and raised safety platforms at a cost of more than $15m.

The suggested safety tables would be financed in part by central government. A 51% subsidy is available for the works as part of the Low Cost Low Risk component of the Road to Zero programme. Should councillors go ahead with the proposed changes, the work will be undertaken at night over six weeks beginning later this year.

Meanwhile, councillors will also decide whether to approve the consultation phase for the draft 2024 Hamilton speed management plan. The proposed consultation period will run from early June until July 7 and will allow the public to air their views on works projects around the city that will impact speed limits.

Areas slated for speed reductions include those around schools, shopping areas and marae. Nawton’s Hyde Ave and Bader St in Melville feature high on the priority list as does Weka St in Frankton – all of which are near schools or shopping precincts.

The work will enable the council to achieve its goal of reducing the speed limit around all city schools to 30kph.

Councillors will also receive an update on the roll-out of projects funded by the city’s $37m share of the Climate Emergency Response Fund. Contributions of up to 90% of a project’s costs are provided by Waka Kotahi in a bid to reduce financial burdens on local government and to introduce attractive alternatives to driving.

Elected members will be asked to provide the go-ahead for preliminary investigations for three projects: a small extension of the Western Rail Trail to connect to the railway station, a redesign and connection of the much maligned Queens Ave roundabout to the rail trail, and the construction of a new bus stop in Anglesea St opposite Countdown supermarket, that will better allow drivers to turn right on to Anzac Parade.