Cambridge & Kent Terrace Crosswalk
Jonathan Brewer made this Official Information request to Wellington City Council
The request was partially successful.
From: Jonathan Brewer
Dear Wellington City Council,
In June or July of 2011 I called the council to ask about the time it takes to cross Cambridge and Kent Terraces. I was assigned issue number 1967645.
I called to follow up that request in August and was advised the issue was passed to Andrew Swagerman on the 28th of July 2011.
It's been a year and I've still not had a response to my request. Please release any and all correspondence around the request, and please answer this question:
What is the ratio of wait to walk at the Cambridge/Kent Terrace crosswalk nearest the Basin Reserve. If this ratio varies depending on the time of day, please state this ratio on an hourly basis.
Yours faithfully,
Jonathan Brewer
From: Leonie Watson
Wellington City Council
Dear Jonathan
Thank you for your email received 14 August 2012, requesting information on the walk to wait ratio of the pedestrian lights at Cambridge and Kent Terraces.
We have contacted Anton Swagerman of our Traffic Lighting Team. He has advised that we can not provide a ratio for wait to walk time, as there is no record of the time pedestrians arrive at crossings. However it is expected that pedestrians should be able to cross within 20 to 60 seconds of activating the signal, with a maximum wait of 85 seconds.
The crossing at the Basin Reserve end of Kent Terrace is set to display the green man signal for 5 seconds and the flashing red clearance signal for 13 seconds. The Cambridge Terrace crossing in this area is set for 6 seconds green man display and 11 seconds clearance. Both sets of pedestrian lights are phased on a downstream controlled cycle during the day varying between 70 and 90 seconds. The Cambridge Terrace light can respond faster than this time when no vehicular traffic is present.
We hope this helps to answer your query. If you require further information regarding these lights you can contact Anton directly on the email below:
[email address]<mailto:[email address]>
If we can be of further assistance, or you have any questions about the Wellington City Council and our services please call our 24 hour Customer Contact Centre on (04) 499 4444 or email: [email address]<mailto:[email address]>.
Kind regards,
Leonie Watson
Customer Services Team
Wellington City Council
PO Box 2199
Wellington, 6140
New Zealand
(04) 499 4444
www.wellington.govt.nz
Our Wellington
Your Council guide to your city - See Tuesday's Dominion Post for a weekly snapshot of Council news!
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From: Jonathan Brewer
Dear Leonie Watson,
Thank you so much for your quick reply and explanation of the crossing system at the Basin Reserve end of Kent and Cambridge Terrace.
Can you please address the release of information around my original request? I am concerned that I never received a reply and would like to understand what happened internally.
Yours sincerely,
Jonathan Brewer
From: Leonie Watson
Wellington City Council
Dear Jonathan,
I will investigate your original request further and provide you with details as soon as possible.
Kind regards,
Leonie Watson
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From: Tim Kirby
Wellington City Council
Hi Jonathan
I attach scan of this CONFIRM Enquiry as requested.
Regards
Tim
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From: Jonathan Brewer
Dear Wellington City Council,
Thank you for details of the crossing at Kent and Cambridge Terraces near the Basin Reserve. From the information you supplied me, I understand that pedestrians can wait up to 90 seconds at each of the crossings.
Talking a direct path across this intersection is 40 meters, can can be traversed in less than 30 seconds if one chooses to jaywalk - a dangerous activity given the speeds that many cars take this stretch of road.
The offset nature of the crossing as designed by WCC means that the total distance to cover is 50 meters. At a walking pace of 1.4M/second, that's 36 seconds, plus up to two 90 second wait times at the traffic lights.
Due to the WCC's traffic engineering, it could take a pedestrian 3:36 to cross this intersection if they were following the rules.
It's no surprise to me that the majority of pedestrians in my two years of observation have chosen to ignore the pedestrian crossing and venture out in to traffic to avoid the long wait.
Please let me know if the WCC considers the non-use of the pedestrian crossings here to be a safety hazard to both pedestrians and motorists, and if so, how the WCC plans to improve the crossing experience to eliminate the hazards introduced by jaywalking this busy road.
Yours faithfully,
Jonathan Brewer
From: Info at WCC
Wellington City Council
Dear Jonathan,
Thank you for your enquiry regarding the pedestrian crossings at Kent and Cambridge Terraces, Te Aro
We have forwarded your email to Mike Mendonca, Acting Manager of City Networks, as he is best suited to respond.
If you have any questions or require further assistance please contact us.
Kind regards,
Erica Richards
Customer Services Team
Wellington City Council
PO Box 2199
Wellington, 6140
New Zealand
(04) 499 4444
www.wellington.govt.nz
Our Wellington
Your Council guide to your city - See Tuesday's Dominion Post for a weekly snapshot of Council news!
show quoted sections
From: Mike Mendonca
Wellington City Council
Hello Jonathan
One of our engineers will be in touch shortly
Mike
______________________________________________
From: Info at WCC
Sent: Tuesday, 4 September 2012 16:03
To: '[OIA #491 email]'
Subject: Official Information Act request - Cambridge & Kent
Terrace Crosswalk
Dear Jonathan,
Thank you for your enquiry regarding the pedestrian crossings at Kent and
Cambridge Terraces, Te Aro
We have forwarded your email to Mike Mendonca, Acting Manager of City
Networks, as he is best suited to respond.
If you have any questions or require further assistance please contact us.
Kind regards,
Erica Richards
Customer Services Team
Wellington City Council
PO Box 2199
Wellington, 6140
New Zealand
(04) 499 4444
[1]www.wellington.govt.nz
Our Wellington
Your Council guide to your city - See Tuesday's Dominion Post for a weekly
snapshot of Council news!
show quoted sections
From: Paul Barker
Wellington City Council
Hi Jonathan
Kent Terrace and Cambridge Terrace are designated as Arterial Roads and
fall into the same road hierarchy as the Waterfront Route such as Jervois
Quay, Wakefield St and Cable St.
Kent Terrace is also a State Highway for NZ Transport Agency and currently
carries approx 28,000 vehicles per day while Cambridge Terrace carries
approx 9,000 vehicles per day. Both roads are also major public transport
routes for the southern and eastern suburbs.
Kent Terrace is carrying approx 2000 vehicles during the morning peak and
2300 vehicles during the evening peak. Cambridge Terrace carries a lower
traffic volume of 900 vehicles during morning peak and 800 vehicles during
evening peak. By contrast pedestrian volumes are low.
The pedestrian signals across Kent Terrace and Cambridge Terrace near the
Basin Reserve operate during the morning and evening peak periods up to a
90 second cycle length. On Kent Terrace, this equates to a pedestrian
wait of 70 seconds during the peak periods if the pedestrians arrive just
when the traffic starts to move. Due to the higher traffic volume on the
State Highway, the cycle length on Kent Terrace operates close to 90
seconds.
On the other hand, the pedestrian wait is much lower on Cambridge Terrace
due to the lower traffic volume and on average, the waiting time for
pedestrians is approximately 30 seconds during the peak periods.
At other times of the day, the pedestrian wait will be lower across each
of these arterial roads due to the reduced traffic demand and lower cycle
length.
Observations show that most pedestrians cross both Cambridge Terrace and
Kent Terrace in a responsible manner. Some pedestrians choose to wait for
the pedestrian signals while others choose to cross after checking for
oncoming traffic without utilising the pedestrian signal.
The absence of any reported crashes in the current five year period
indicates that these pedestrian signals are used in a safe manner.
Council will continue to monitor these pedestrian signals and make further
adjustments as required.
Regards
Paul Barker
Safe & Sustainable Transport Manager
Transport Planning Group
Wellington City Council
Ph: (04) 803-8043
Fax (04) 801-3009
Mob (021) 227 8043
E-Mail: ([email address] )
[1]www.Wellington.govt.nz
______________________________________________
From: Info at WCC
Sent: Tuesday, 4 September 2012 16:03
To: '[OIA #491 email]'
Subject: Official Information Act request - Cambridge & Kent
Terrace Crosswalk
Dear Jonathan,
Thank you for your enquiry regarding the pedestrian crossings at Kent and
Cambridge Terraces, Te Aro
We have forwarded your email to Mike Mendonca, Acting Manager of City
Networks, as he is best suited to respond.
If you have any questions or require further assistance please contact us.
Kind regards,
Erica Richards
Customer Services Team
Wellington City Council
PO Box 2199
Wellington, 6140
New Zealand
(04) 499 4444
[2]www.wellington.govt.nz
Our Wellington
Your Council guide to your city - See Tuesday's Dominion Post for a weekly
snapshot of Council news!
show quoted sections
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Jonathan Brewer left an annotation ()
In a phone call from the Wellington City Council, I was informed my request last year for information on the crossing was closed with no action. The caller apologised for the poor service.
I asked for this to be sent in writing, but all I've received is the action log from the help desk system, not an explanation of why.
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