This is a Blog I penned , and is courtesy of Strathmore Park Blog. Id be interested, and appreciative of your feedback. Colour Blind Drivers: Red Light Runners BY STRATHMORE PARK ON NOVEMBER 28, 2014 • ( 4 COMMENTS ) Councillor Simon Woolf this week has been looking at the problem of pedestrian and traffic safety in the CBD and has discovered, unsurprisingly, that they rate of red light running is high. Our Golden Mile has been problematic from a safety perspective for quite some time. I walk from the Civic Centre along Willis St down to Lambton Quay daily, and often frequently. It is a rare time when I don’t view dangerous behaviour by pedestrians, vehicles and cyclists. I have been documenting the problems for a reasonable period, and now have quite a collection of evidence ( a fair bit photographic! ) to back up the reality, that we Wellingtonian’s are not that great in regard to road sense, or care for others. Over the past few years we have had a number injuries and fatalities on our Golden Mile. It is just a matter of time before another serious event occurs. Speed, and more particularly red light running, combined with jaywalking is a recipe for disaster. My research tells me speed is not as bad as it was, however the red light running is a constant concern. Today I spent a short time with my camera in Willis St. I focused attention on two sets of lights. The first was a short spell in at The Willis St traffic lights by Chews Lane. My research today was inspired by a Taxi who shot a red light in order to pick up a client. A women on the crossing was not a happy camper! When the Taxi Driver stopped, I caught up to him, knocked on his window, and politely asked him not to shoot red lights in the future. He was apologetic! The Lambton Quay/ Willis St intersection is probably the worst red light runner area in the CBD ( and potentially the country!) Our culture and behaviour in the Golden Mile is pretty appalling, and what is annoying is that while there has been endless education and media coverage of the problem, the situation hasn’t improved. The fact that there has been little enforcement hasn’t helped either! Going by the current red light runners I viewed, and photographed today, there could have been quite some $150.00 tickets, and 20 demerit points issued, had the right enforcement officer been in attendance. Within the hour there could easily have been a couple of thousand dollars of revenue gained. Don’t get me wrong, this is not about generating dollars for the Governments General Fund. This is about changing behaviour and creating a better road safety culture in our Golden Mile. Now some of the red light running today was so blatant, and so dangerous, that I would view a “Careless or inconsiderate use of motor vehicle infringement, and 30 demerit points a fairer deterrent. Maybe a “Driver fails to give way at pedestrian crossing and 35 demerit points” might work even more effectively. The associated fines would be larger too! I have used the word “blatant”, and today, as with other days, what I have witnessed has largely been calculated and blatant. This was a day when weather conditions were good. From what I have seen, wet and inclement days show little difference, other than constituting greater dangers. I photographed cyclists, buses, cars and commercial vehicles all shoot proper red lights. In addition there were a lot more who shot “late” orange lights. I also saw some very brassed off pedestrians! The intersection of Lambton Quay, and Willis St is a major intersection, which already has a 30kph speed restriction in place. Pedestrians have little to come and go on, and should have the expectation of being safe to cross when a light is red! Currently that is far from the case. Now I have asked the question of the Councils Transport Road Safety Team, as to the number of tickets issued for moving traffic violations, including red light runners, in the past 3 or four months. I was initially reluctant to tie up both WCC Officer and Police time and resources on the matter, however what I have viewed, and what others have related, influenced my decision to pursue the information. To date I have made three separate inquiries and requests, without a response. I have serious doubts as to if the information is readily available. I am inclined to believe that not many day time violations, and especially red light infringement notices, have been ticketed. The majority of our enforcement probably relates to evenings, and particularly Thursday, Friday, and Saturday nights. What I would like to gain, and would appreciate, is some reader feedback. Firstly is what I am relating seen as being a problem? Are enforcement demerit points, and fines, the answer in our Golden Mile? Is there enough, or too little traffic enforcement in our CBD? Are there other ways we can change the obviously poor transport culture and behaviour in our CBD? I’d also be interested in peoples stories relative to transport safety in our Golden Mile. This could be via this Strathmore Park Blog, or offline to [email protected] Thank you for positive and constructive feedback. It will be collated, and used with other research as part of an aim to improve transport safety within our Golden Mile and CBD. Just as a footnote, today I spent another hour researching and photographing. I spent almost all that time on the Corner of Lambton Quay and Willis Street, between 4.09pm, and 5.09 pm. I photographed a staggering 34 red light runners, including buses, taxis, cyclists, private and commercial vehicles. The traffic safety problem, and the culture is hugely concerning. I have just written another email ( with pics) to our Transport Safety Team. The response will be interesting!
Posted on: Fri, 28 Nov 2014 20:17:07 +0000
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