Tasman District Council (TDC), Nelson City Council (NCC), Waka Kotahi and the local Countdown supermarket recently partnered to improve the efficiency and safety of the Champion/Salisbury Road roundabout in Tasman.
With more than 17,000 vehicles passing through every day, this is the busiest roundabout in the region. Due to the high traffic demand, congestion was building during peak hours making it difficult for people walking and cycling to cross the roundabout safely.
The roundabout was upgraded with new turning lanes to cater for the increased traffic demand. Raised safety platforms were also installed at two of the four entries to mitigate any safety risks that were created with the new turning lanes. These platforms ensure people turning will be travelling at low enough speeds that if a crash was to happen, everyone involved is more likely to walk away unharmed.
These improvements are part of the Safe System approach to road safety. If we are to achieve Vision Zero, we need to create a safe transport system; one that recognises humans make mistakes and is designed so that these mistakes do not need to cost us our lives.
