Is it worth spending $1 million lighting the motorway from Johnsonville to Tawa?
By Jamie Melbourne-Hayward
The New Zealand Transport Agency is gearing up for a Johnsonville to Tawa SH1 streetlights project, but a neighbourhood association is complaining that the project is too costly during a recession. Grenada Village Community Chairman Bruce Patterson says unless the spending is justified to locals, then the project appears ?silly? in the midst of a recession. The motorway hasn?t been lit for the past 60 years, and he says spending $1 million on new streetlights during a recession is not wise. ?The information they sent us doesn?t say how many crashes have been caused by poor lighting. ?They want to keep going northwards and light the whole motorway, its nonsense,? says Mr Patterson. State Highways Manager for Wellington Rob Whight says the project is one of a number of safety improvements undertaken each year to reduce the likelihood or severity of crashes. ?International research tells us that installing streetlights can reduce night-time crashes by at least 30 percent. ?We would like to see this happen on this 4.9km section of highway with a night-time crash rate above the national average,? he says. NZTA statistics show that 34 percent of the 182 crashes over the past five years on the Johnsonville to Tawa stretch of state highway occurred at night with lighting being a major contributing factor. ?We appreciate that people may be concerned these new, permanent lights will affect their properties and we would like to assure them that the safety of all road users is the reason for this $1 million lighting project. ?We are sensitive to their needs and will make every effort to have the lights designed in such a way that they illuminate the road and not unduly affect peoples? homes,? says Mr Whight. Decisions are yet to be made about whether the lights will be sited on the central median or at the side of the road. Mr Whight says they have been discussing the streetlights proposal with local residents to ensure their concerns are addressed, and have already made modifications such as filters on the lights so the final design fits in with the local environment while still meeting the needs of highway users.
