A badly injured forklift driver and upset residents and road users are demanding nearly three dozen concrete cycle lane separators be removed from Mount Maunganui’s Links Ave.
They spoke out after the forklift driver struck one of the safety barriers and others had near misses, with one describing the 32 separators as a ‘‘traffic hazard’'.
The Tauranga City Council says it installed the cycle lane separators as part of the Links Ave Safety Improvements project between April and June this year to make it safer for students cycling and walking.
Michael Gerbes, 41, sustained serious leg injuries after his forklift struck one near Links Avenue Reserve on August 5 and tipped over. His right leg was pinned under the machine.
Michael, recovering at home after surgery at Tauranga Hospital, is waiting to hear if he needs another operation.
He has called for these cycle separators to be removed to prevent a similar accident.
The Links Ave accident scene where forklift driver Michael Gerbes was pinned under the machine. Photo / Sandra Conchie.
Residents and road users spoke to the Bay of Plenty Times on the condition they were not named.
Two residents, among a group of 10 rescuers who came to Gerbes’ aid, also want the structures removed.
One believes the separators sre “doing more harm than good”. A vehicle hit one near her home last month.
“Oh my God, if the injured forklift driver had hit his head, the outcome could have been a lot worse,” she says.
Another resident tells the Bay of Plenty Times he knows of several vehicles hitting these “lumps of concrete” and of numerous “near-misses”.
The man believes they are “fast becoming a traffic hazard” and need to go or at least be replaced by something more flexible such as the rubber-mounted safety markers used on state highways.
A Concord Ave resident says he narrowly avoided hitting the same concrete separator two weeks before Michael's accident.
“It’s hard to see at night and due to the road being quite narrow in parts, it’s easy to miss seeing them during peak-hour traffic.”
Taupo Ave resident Tami Riddy says she regularly rides her bike on Links Ave and believes the separators “don't add anything” to cyclist safety.
A Berwick Ave resident who regularly rides his bike on Links Ave is calling for the concrete cycle lane separators to be removed. Photo / Sandra Conchie.
Another Links Ave cyclist, who has lived in the area for 37 years, says he also wants them removed.
“I’ve also seen adult cyclists heading in opposing directions using the same cycle lanes and others riding on footpaths to avoid being hit. In my view, there is no need for so many cycle lanes on this road, and all these cycle separators need to go.”
There were blackish tyre marks on some of the cycle separators on August 13.
One of the tyre-marked concrete cycle separators in Links Ave. Photo / Sandra Conchie.
Mount Maunganui Ratepayers, Residents and Retailers Association president Michael O’Neill says the separators should be urgently removed.
“It would be far better to install share-with-care pathways similar to those in Ngatai Rd and along Marine Parade.’'
Mount Maunganui Ratepayers, Residents and Retailers Association president Michael O'Neill. Photo / Alex Cairns.
Council network safety and sustainability manager Karen Hay says 32 cycle separators costing $65,183 were installed on Links Ave between April and June to make it safer for students. NZ Transport Agency Waka Kotahi paid just over half the bill.
Karen says the separators offer riders a “high level of protection”.
She says the Links Ave safety project follows community feedback about student safety and an independent Links Ave safety review.
Karen says that during the consultation students shared concerns about the unprotected cycle lane, noting cars often crossed into it, and several near-misses that could have led to serious incidents had been reported in the area.
The council worked with the Links Ave Community Panel to implement changes which also included improved pedestrian crossing facilities, relocation of bus stops, and traffic calming measures, she says,
She says the council has received five complaints about the visibility of the separators and the potential hazard for vehicles.
“We acknowledge residents’ concerns about some vehicles hitting the cycle separators. While these separators are relatively new to Tauranga, having also been installed in Ngatai Rd and State Highway 2 to the Wairoa Bridge, they are widely used nationally and internationally to protect cyclists and supported by significant research.”
In response to residents’ concerns, the council had “committed” to improving the visibility of the cycle separators by painting the end white and adding some extra reflectors at key locations, and would continue to engage with the police on this matter.
Senior Sergeant Wayne Hunter, head of Western Bay of Plenty’s road policing team, says the cause of Michael's accident is still being investigated.
He says there have been no complaints to the police about the separators but he will raise the issue with the council at the next joint roading network meeting.
12 comments
Safety barriers a hazard
Posted on 19-08-2024 07:09 | By jed
They've been putting these monstrosities all around Tauranga. Permanant road cone sticks are an abomination too.
Had a near miss outside the New World 'safety' improvements the other day too. Who on earth thought that was a good idea?
Council have so much money it is like they are just thinking up silly ways to spend it.
The Links ave safety improvements have injured more people than the so called 'unsafe' road before council decided to 'fix' it.
Question . . .
Posted on 19-08-2024 07:44 | By Yadick
Would you rather hit these barriers from not watching where you're driving or would you rather hit, maim, cripple or kill a cyclist, a child?
I'm not saying there's not something better out there, but presently, if they save even one kids life that's got to be a good thing. Those who have hit these barriers I could almost guarantee, are so aware of them now, that they'll never hit them again. The barrier didn't jump out and hit you, you drove into it and yes, I've almost hit them myself through, what I hate to admit, was inattention.
The
Posted on 19-08-2024 07:48 | By DaveTheCynic
Anti cycle rhetoric is strong in this community. Sacrifice cyclists 'cause a forklift driver can't drive in a straight line.
Safety barriers
Posted on 19-08-2024 08:53 | By peanuts9
By all means, let's remove these barriers. The safety of the more important but incompetent drivers is of much higher priority than the safety of cyclists.
Creating hazards
Posted on 19-08-2024 09:53 | By rogue
I'm an emergency service worker.
In my time I have never heard of any school kids being hit on Links Ave...until the council began installing " traffic claiming measures ". At least 1 near miss has been created by the council.
The footpath is wide enough for a cycle lane , simply by removing the grass verge the council won't maintain .
The hazards have been exasperated by the adding the barriers leaving no room for cars to pull to the side of road to allow emergency vehicles to pass by...like it says to do in the road code.
At…
Posted on 19-08-2024 11:55 | By Shadow1
…what cost does this farcical project come? It used to be that a footpath was enough to keep schoolkids safe. Cyclists can easily use the road. If they think it’s unsafe then they can use another road. I for one am very careful around schoolkids and cyclists. Personally, I think that all schools should have a bus and car drop off area within the school grounds. It’s not council’s job to destroy a perfectly good road because one of their numpties thinks they should.
What next in this seemingly endless saga?
Shadow1.
Yes, we’ll…
Posted on 19-08-2024 12:04 | By Shadow1
…just another fail from the design team. Those concrete separation things are as big a hazard for cyclists as for cars. The stupid plastic poles are as bad. They should clear all this rubbish off the roads so drivers can concentrate on their job. That is, driving safely.
Shadow1
Planning gone feral.
Posted on 19-08-2024 12:12 | By Watchdog
We have all these modern ideas that test our thinking and waste our money. See Cameron read fir examples if wasteful spending.
Let's stop being fancy.and dolpky be practical and economical.
cyclist
Posted on 19-08-2024 13:16 | By Opinion100
why do cyclist go as close to the white line as possible? forcing the car to move over potentially crashing? . why dont the cyclist feel the need to bike 4 bikes wide also forcing the car to move over. why do cyclist when coming up to a row of parked cars chose to go onto the road instead of the foot path causing the car to move over. all leading to potential harm to or from the driver? a second of thinking that could change alot of lifes. \
when in reality if the cyclist was not there the harm would not have happened?
people on bikes need to also be more considerate and not think they are bigger than a car. and stop making it the cars issue. sometimes these cyclist are just dumb as Fxxx out there and that is the truth.
One good thing about the Olympics
Posted on 19-08-2024 13:18 | By Paul W2
One thing I noticed on the races thru the Paris streets during the Olympics was the lack of $400,000 raised crossing, separated cycle lanes and 50 Kph speed signs in the CBD not 30Kph ones as here. The only place I saw a raised crossing was in the women's marathon and they were loe height one.
Only a matter of time
Posted on 19-08-2024 13:38 | By Come on TCC!
It's only a matter of time before someone is killed by these so called "safety barriers ".
Even the cyclists if they hit one by accident risk being thrown into the road.
I've seen an article where they are being removed in another town as they are more or a hazard than without them!
It's about time the powers to be are held accountable for the ridiculous cotton wool society they're trying to make at the tax payers expense!
Agree with Yadick
Posted on 20-08-2024 00:55 | By This Guy
The barrier did its job. The person operating the heavy machinery should be paying attention to where they are going. Looks like they can't accept responsibility, so they are blaming the safety measures (which are clearly needed because people can't stay in their own lane) I agree with Yadick, lucky you didn't hit, maim, cripple or kill a cyclist and/or child... Barriers like this are not a problem when you LOOK WHERE YOU ARE GOING!
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