Crossing the main road is about to get a lot safer for everyone in Inglewood as NPDC (New Plymouth District Council) is installing a half-million dollar signal controlled pedestrian crossing on state highway 3 through the town.

The work begins on Tuesday (19 April) near the Purple dairy, Hinau Street intersection. The new crossing will use smart technology with video cameras, so that if someone pushes the button and then walks away the signals won’t change, helping traffic to continue to flow.

In 2021 NPDC Councillor Marie Pearce started a public petition which gathered over 2000 signatures and lobbied the Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Agency Head office and Board in Wellington, for a much needed pedestrian crossing on the state highway.

“Anyone who’s stood on the side of the road there waiting to cross at busy times knows just how dangerous it is, especially for those with children. A third of the town lives on the northern side of the state highway and accessing the dairy, the schools or the medical centre means running a gauntlet of 20,000 vehicles a day including 1,100 heavy trucks. Everyone has a near-miss story to tell, so having this safety improvement get underway is really wonderful and my thanks to NPDC, Waka Kotahi and everyone who has supported this project,” says NPDC Councillor Pearce.

A temporary traffic detour via Miro, Kelly and Pukatea streets will be in place during construction.

Fast facts

• New Plymouth District has 1,278km of district roads and 11,178 traffic lights.
• NPDC spends about $7.5 million each year on maintaining its roads.
• There are more than 500 million vehicle kilometres travelled on our roads each year.
• NPDC is responsible for all road except state highways.
• Waka Kotahi is responsible for all state highways across Aotearoa.

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