Brakes have been applied to planned traffic upgrades to increase safety at Ōamaru’s north end, due to the withdrawal of funds.

The Waitaki District Council is disappointed by the announcement made by Transport Minister Simeon Brown late last week, to discontinue funding for the Transport Choices programme.

Transport Choices Ōamaru would have seen 13 upgraded side-road entrances, with flat crossing places for pushchairs and mobility vehicles, between Orwell Street and Stirling Street.

There would also have been additional refuge crossings on Thames Highway (SH1), and the upgraded of the Harlech Street zebra-crossing to a lights-controlled crossing.

It would also have seen four-way light controlled crossings at the intersection between Thames Highway and Redcastle Road, and the dog-leg intersection involving Thames Highway, Arundel Street and Regina Lane. 

This would have provided additional safe crossing points, and managed traffic issues which occur at these intersections.

The project was intended to provide pupils at Waitaki Boys’ High School, Waitaki Girls’ High School, St. Kevin’s College, Ōamaru Intermediate School and Pembroke School with safer walking and cycling routes to school. 

The level side-road entrances would have benefited older residents,including those at aged-care facilities in the area, and others with mobility difficulties.

This project was wholly funded by Waka Kotahi New Zealand Transport Agency through the Climate Emergency Response Fund, but council staff had invested significant time and effort to make this project happen.

However, with the ministerial instruction to Waka Kotahi to end its work on these programmes, and to not commit any further funding to local authorities, no further progress can be made on the plans.

Mayor Gary Kircher said: “This was an opportunity to actually do something that would benefit our community significantly, and we weren’t having to use ratepayers’ money to do it.

“This win/win project has been taken away from us, so the question now is, ‘what is the government going to do to help Waitaki thrive?’.”

Assets operations manager Joshua Rendell he was very disappointed to receive notice the funding for the programme was to be discontinued by the new Government. 

“This project would have resolved both significant safety issues for our kids walking and riding to and from school, and congestion for our residents trying to access the highway at peak times from Redcastle Road and Arundel Street. 

“I’m hopeful Waka Kotahi NZTA will continue to work with us to fund these improvements out of another budget to resolve what is a longstanding and frustrating issue for our community.”