Protected right turns at intersections
Cody C made this Official Information request to Christchurch City Council
The request was successful.
From: Cody C
Dear Christchurch City Council,
At the intersection of Amyes Road and Shands Road when turning right onto Shands from Amyes there is a red right turning arrow, however there is no green / yellow turning arrows. The red right turning arrow remains lit for a short period during the cycle when the Amyes road traffic is operating (scenario 1).
At some other Christchurch intersections the right turning arrow may remain on for the entire duration of one or more cycles (scenario 2).
It is my understanding that this is a common source of frustration for drivers, which leads to many drivers running the red light (ultimately reducing the safety afforded by the traffic light). I have never observed such traffic lighting behaviour in any other city, in New Zealand or overseas, so I believe this may be a CCC traffic policy.
Please provide the policy (if it exists), rationale and any supporting evidence for not providing protected right turns at intersections in scenarios similar to the above.
Yours faithfully,
Cody C
From: OfficialInformation@my.ccc.govt.nz
[1]Christchurch City Council logo
Good morning Cody,
Thank you for your email.
We are handling your request under the Local Government Official
Information and Meetings Act 1987 (LGOIMA). We have forwarded it to the
appropriate Christchurch City Council staff, and we will provide a
response or update within 20 working days of the date we received your
request. If we are unable to respond to your request by then, we will
notify you of an extension of that timeframe.
If you have any queries, please feel free to contact me. If any additional
factors come to light which are relevant to your request, please do not
hesitate to contact me so that these can be taken into account.
Kind regards,
Ana Macadie
Information Advisor
Official Information Team
From: [email address]
Sent: April 19 08:11:07
To:[email address]
Subject: FW: Official Information request - Protected right turns at
intersections
From: Cody C <[FYI request #15201 email]>
Sent: Friday, 16 April 2021 6:52 PM
To: Official Information <[email address]>
Subject: Official Information request - Protected right turns at
intersections
Dear Christchurch City Council,
At the intersection of Amyes Road and Shands Road when turning right onto
Shands from Amyes there is a red right turning arrow, however there is no
green / yellow turning arrows. The red right turning arrow remains lit for
a short period during the cycle when the Amyes road traffic is operating
(scenario 1).
At some other Christchurch intersections the right turning arrow may
remain on for the entire duration of one or more cycles (scenario 2).
It is my understanding that this is a common source of frustration for
drivers, which leads to many drivers running the red light (ultimately
reducing the safety afforded by the traffic light). I have never observed
such traffic lighting behaviour in any other city, in New Zealand or
overseas, so I believe this may be a CCC traffic policy.
Please provide the policy (if it exists), rationale and any supporting
evidence for not providing protected right turns at intersections in
scenarios similar to the above.
Yours faithfully,
Cody C
-------------------------------------------------------------------
This is an Official Information request made via the FYI website.
Please use this email address for all replies to this request:
[2][FYI request #15201 email]
Is [3][Christchurch City Council request email] the wrong address for Official
Information requests to Christchurch City Council? If so, please contact
us using this form:
[4]https://fyi.org.nz/change_request/new?bo...
Disclaimer: This message and any reply that you make will be published on
the internet. Our privacy and copyright policies:
[5]https://fyi.org.nz/help/officers
If you find this service useful as an Official Information officer, please
ask your web manager to link to us from your organisation's OIA or LGOIMA
page.
-------------------------------------------------------------------
**********************************************************************
This electronic email and any files transmitted with it are intended
solely for the use of the individual or entity to whom they are addressed.
The views expressed in this message are those of the individual sender
and may not necessarily reflect the views of the Christchurch City
Council.
If you are not the correct recipient of this email please advise the
sender and delete.
Christchurch City Council
http://www.ccc.govt.nz
**********************************************************************
Contact us
[6]Phone icon 03 941 8999
[7]Map marker icon [8]Visit a Service Centre
References
Visible links
1. https://www.ccc.govt.nz/
2. mailto:[FYI request #15201 email]
3. mailto:[Christchurch City Council request email]
4. https://fyi.org.nz/change_request/new?bo...
5. https://fyi.org.nz/help/officers
7. https://www.ccc.govt.nz/contact-us#visit
8. https://www.ccc.govt.nz/contact-us#visit
From: OfficialInformation@my.ccc.govt.nz
[1]Christchurch City Council logo
Dear Cody,
Thank you for your email. The manager of Operations (Transport) has
provided the following information:
Regarding the operation of the intersection of Amyes Road/Goulding
Avenue/Shands Road:
The single red arrow display to control the right turn movement from Amyes
Road into Shands Road (described as Scenario 1) is provided for the safety
of pedestrians crossing over the Shands Road north approach. This arrow
is displayed to allow pedestrians to safely cross without conflict from
turning traffic. On this approach to the intersection, due to the rail
line, the limit line for vehicles is around 50m from the pedestrian
crossing over Shands Road, which heightens the risk to pedestrians as
turning vehicles have time to accelerate to higher speeds than would occur
at a typical intersection.
“Pedestrian protection” as this operational feature is known, is a common
at signalised intersections throughout the country. With increased focus
of the safety of pedestrians at intersections, pedestrian protection is
becoming more widespread at new signalised intersections or as existing
sites are upgraded.
Regarding the installation of right turn phases at intersections:
When deciding whether to install a right phase at a signalised
intersection, we consider a number of factors such as:
· History of crashes at the site
· Intersection geometry, including the horizontal and vertical
alignment which may affect visibility of opposing traffic
· Number of opposing lanes of through traffic
· Speed environment
· Volume of traffic making a right turn movement
The Council has progressively installed right turn phases at a number of
intersections around the city and more are planned as part of our Minor
Safety programme. Whilst it may seem like there is minimal work required
to install more arrow displays, due to cabling requirements and the
condition of some of our underground signal infrastructure
post-earthquakes, it can be very costly to provide right turn phases at
intersections. Our ability to install more right turn phases to address
safety issues is limited by the funding we have available and also needs
to be prioritised against other safety initiatives in our programme.
In some instances where a right turn phase is provided we choose to
operate these as fully controlled turns and do not allow drivers to turn
through opposing through traffic for safety reasons.
Instances in which the red right turning arrow remains on throughout a
whole cycle without allowing for right turn (such as you have described as
Scenario 2) can occur when the right turn movement is fully controlled and
the vehicle detector is not activated to demand the right turn phase.
This can occur if the vehicle is stopped too far away to activate the
detector.
You have the right to seek an investigation and review by the Ombudsman of
this decision. Information about how to make a complaint is available at
[2]www.ombudsman.parliament.nz or freephone 0800 802 602.
Kind regards,
Ana Macadie
Information Advisor
Official Information Team
From: [email address]
Sent: April 19 08:49:50
To:[FOI #15201 email]
Subject: Re: [ Ticket: 401923 ] Protected right turns at intersections
[3]Christchurch City Council logo
Good morning Cody,
Thank you for your email.
We are handling your request under the Local Government Official
Information and Meetings Act 1987 (LGOIMA). We have forwarded it to the
appropriate Christchurch City Council staff, and we will provide a
response or update within 20 working days of the date we received your
request. If we are unable to respond to your request by then, we will
notify you of an extension of that timeframe.
If you have any queries, please feel free to contact me. If any additional
factors come to light which are relevant to your request, please do not
hesitate to contact me so that these can be taken into account.
Kind regards,
Ana Macadie
Information Advisor
Official Information Team
From: [email address]
Sent: April 19 08:11:07
To:[email address]
Subject: FW: Official Information request - Protected right turns at
intersections
From: Cody C <[FOI #15201 email]>
Sent: Friday, 16 April 2021 6:52 PM
To: Official Information <[email address]>
Subject: Official Information request - Protected right turns at
intersections
Dear Christchurch City Council,
At the intersection of Amyes Road and Shands Road when turning right onto
Shands from Amyes there is a red right turning arrow, however there is no
green / yellow turning arrows. The red right turning arrow remains lit for
a short period during the cycle when the Amyes road traffic is operating
(scenario 1).
At some other Christchurch intersections the right turning arrow may
remain on for the entire duration of one or more cycles (scenario 2).
It is my understanding that this is a common source of frustration for
drivers, which leads to many drivers running the red light (ultimately
reducing the safety afforded by the traffic light). I have never observed
such traffic lighting behaviour in any other city, in New Zealand or
overseas, so I believe this may be a CCC traffic policy.
Please provide the policy (if it exists), rationale and any supporting
evidence for not providing protected right turns at intersections in
scenarios similar to the above.
Yours faithfully,
Cody C
-------------------------------------------------------------------
This is an Official Information request made via the FYI website.
Please use this email address for all replies to this request:
[4][FOI #15201 email]
Is [5][Christchurch City Council request email] the wrong address for Official
Information requests to Christchurch City Council? If so, please contact
us using this form:
[6]https://fyi.org.nz/change_request/new?bo...
Disclaimer: This message and any reply that you make will be published on
the internet. Our privacy and copyright policies:
[7]https://fyi.org.nz/help/officers
If you find this service useful as an Official Information officer, please
ask your web manager to link to us from your organisation's OIA or LGOIMA
page.
-------------------------------------------------------------------
**********************************************************************
This electronic email and any files transmitted with it are intended
solely for the use of the individual or entity to whom they are addressed.
The views expressed in this message are those of the individual sender
and may not necessarily reflect the views of the Christchurch City
Council.
If you are not the correct recipient of this email please advise the
sender and delete.
Christchurch City Council
http://www.ccc.govt.nz
**********************************************************************
Contact us
[8]Phone icon 03 941 8999
[9]Map marker icon [10]Visit a Service Centre
Contact us
[11]Phone icon 03 941 8999
[12]Map marker icon [13]Visit a Service Centre
References
Visible links
1. https://www.ccc.govt.nz/
2. http://www.ombudsman.parliament.nz/
3. https://www.ccc.govt.nz/
4. mailto:[FOI #15201 email]
5. mailto:[Christchurch City Council request email]
6. https://fyi.org.nz/change_request/new?bo...
7. https://fyi.org.nz/help/officers
9. https://www.ccc.govt.nz/contact-us#visit
10. https://www.ccc.govt.nz/contact-us#visit
12. https://www.ccc.govt.nz/contact-us#visit
13. https://www.ccc.govt.nz/contact-us#visit
Things to do with this request
- Add an annotation (to help the requester or others)
- Download a zip file of all correspondence
Offensive? Unsuitable?
Requests for personal information and vexatious requests are not considered valid requests for Official Information (read more).
If you believe this request is not suitable, you can report it for attention by the site administrators
Report this request