Nelson's Traffic Problems

Before very long the new traffic committee of the Nelson City Council is going to have to undertake a comprehensive survey of the city's traffic problems. And, on behalf of many motorists and business people with business premises in the locality, might we suggest that it commences by removing the new lanes at the corners of Hardy and Bridge Streets and Collingwood Street. Like many, we are quite puzzled about the reasons for the new lanes. The flow of traffic here for most of the day is not heavy. Certainly, at peak periods traffic does build up slightly, but a check will show that it soon clears. It could be cleared even quicker by a traffic officer on point duty. And it lasts for no more than 10 minutes at peak periods. We do not know how much this work has cost the Council but we feel it was money not well spent. Especially so since four metered spaces are included among the 25 parking spaces lost to the lanes. Parking, especially at the Hardy Street corner, is always at a premium because of the number of doctors' surgeries in that area. As well, as the picture abvoe shows, problems will be created each time a truck wishes to load or unload from the auction market on the corner. At the Bridge Street corner, west-bound traffic on Bridge Street has to swing in sharply to the very narrow through-lane, then swing out again to avoid hitting parked cars on the western side.

Other problems are created at peak periods, especially at 5 pm, at the lights at Rutherford Street and Hardy Street. Traffic banks up along Rutherford Street as far as Halifax Street (and right through the roundabout), and along Hardy Street as far as Trafalgar Street at times. The manual operation of the lights at these peak periods, as is done in Christchurch, might prove effective. Our pic at left was taken at midday at this corner.

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