Transport Choices Ōamaru

The upcoming Transport Choices Ōamaru upgrades plan to improve pedestrian safety across thirteen side road entrances, two intersections, and three refuge crossings in Ōamaru’s North End. We anticipate that completion of these works will provide safer walking routes for all pedestrians along the west side of Thames Highway.

The upgrades are fully funded by Waka Kotahi (NZTA) through the Government’s Climate Emergency Response Fund (CERF) and support the following two CERF outcomes:

• People walking or cycling should be provided with safe, convenient crossing facilities at locations where the desired route crosses a street.
• At side streets, priority should be given to pedestrians and people cycling on raised facilities where possible.

Street Entrance Upgrades

The thirteen side-road entrance upgrades are on the west side of Thames Highway/SH1 between Orwell Street and Stirling Street. They will provide a pavement level crossing across each street entrance, which will be narrowed by changes to the kerb lines as indicated in the images below.

The effect of these new side road entrances will be reduce turning speed of vehicles from Thames Highway onto side-streets by between 5 and 10kph. This has a significant effect on the outcome of crashes, particularly those involving children and young people.

There will be no loss of parking on the side roads because of these upgrades, but it will ensure pedestrians have a significantly safer route along that side of Thames Highway.

This work will be carried out between early summer 2023 and March 2024.

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Intersection Upgrades

At Arundel Street/Regina Lane, the intersection will have four new traffic signal-controlled pedestrian crossings and new lane-marking for turning vehicles.

This will increase pedestrian safety across all three roads, reduce crash incidents at the intersection, and resolve existing issues regarding the pedestrian crossing near the New World entrance/exit. 

At Redcastle Road, the intersection will have four new traffic signal-controlled pedestrian crossings and new lane-marking for turning vehicles.

There will also be two additional refuge crossings placed between the Arundel Street & Regina Lane intersection and the Redcastle road intersection to allow pedestrians to safely cross Thames Highway at alternative locations. They will be sited between Sandringham and College Street, and between Waitaki Avenue and Balmoral Street.

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This will mean there are a total of nine crossing points on Thames Highway. From north to south there will be two signal controlled at Redcastle Road, two refuge crossings between Sandringham and College Street, and between Waitaki Ave and Balmoral Street, two signal controlled at the Arundel/Regina intersection, one upgraded signal controlled crossing at Harlech Street, the existing signal controlled at the North End shops and an upgrade to the refuge crossing between Ettrick and Conway Street.

The overall aim is to create a safe, appealing and accessible pedestrian route between Redcastle Road and Orwell Street on the west side of Thames Highway, while also offering more safe crossing points over the highway.