26 November 2018

Key Christchurch arterials Brougham Street/Moorhouse Avenue under microscope

Christchurch residents are being asked to get involved in a 30-year strategy that will shape how people travel around one of the city’s busiest areas.

The NZ Transport Agency and Christchurch City Council are looking at ways to make it safer and easier to travel around the SH76 Brougham Street and Moorhouse Avenue area.

They are encouraging people to have their say at a series of community drop-in sessions in Christchurch on December 6 and 7, Thursday and Friday.

The Transport Agency’s Regional Relationship Director, Jim Harland, says traffic volumes and travel times in the Brougham/Moorhouse area have increased, creating issues for people who live, work and travel in the area.

“It’s challenging to get around with commuters, large trucks, buses, pedestrians and cyclists all competing to travel along and around the same busy area,” Mr Harland says.

“It’s congested at times and there have been a number of crashes. In the ten years from 2008 to 2017, 11 people died and 130 people were seriously injured in crashes within the project area. More than a third of those hurt or killed were pedestrians or cyclists and the majority of crashes (63%) happened at intersections.

“With Christchurch growing and more people expected to travel through this area, it is important that we make changes now so we can keep people safe and people and freight moving in the future.”

Council Head of Transport Richard Osborne, says the joint strategy will include short, medium and long term improvements, with the aim of making it easier and safer for people to live, do business and travel in the area.

“We are at an early investigation stage, gathering information and examining the problem before we start forming a strategy,” he says.

“As part of our research, we will investigate and develop a range of treatments and options which consider all types of travel and liveability of people in the area. We want to make sure we find the right balance that takes into account everyone’s needs, whether they drive, walk, ride a bike, or use public transport.”

Mr Osborne says the project team want to hear from the local community and people who use the road.

“After all, people who live, work and travel in this area know it best,” he says.

“We want to know what is working and what concerns people have about this area. We are also keen to hear any information people think we should be aware of as we start our investigations.”

People who can’t make it to one of the drop-in sessions can go online and have their say on an easy-to-use interactive maphttps://nzta.mysocialpinpoint.com/bm or email bm@nzta.govt.nz
• Find out more about the project at www.nzta.govt.nz/bm
• Latest project update here: https://www.nzta.govt.nz/assets/projects/brougham-street-moorhouse-avenue/brougham-moorhouse-project-update-201812.pdf
Thursday, 6 December
The Colombo
363 Colombo St, Sydenham
09:00am – 11:00pm

Outside the Christchurch Bus Interchange
Lichfield St, Christchurch Central
4:00pm to 6:00pm

Friday, 7 December
Look out for our pop-up site
Corner Moorhouse Avenue and Hagley Avenue
4:00pm to 6:00pm

Plan ahead for a safe, enjoyable journey this summer. Keep up to date with:
• Traffic updates: nzta.govt.nz/traffic
• Facebook: facebook.com/NZTAsouthisland
• Twitter Otago/Southland: twitter.com/NZTAOS
• Twitter Top of the South: twitter.com/NZTATotS
• Journey planner: journeys.nzta.govt.nz
• Phone: 0800 4 HIGHWAYS (0800 44 44 49)

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