KEY POINTS:
Fast drivers face bumpy rides over raised pedestrian crossings in Auckland's main street, although city officials say those obeying a proposed 30km/h speed limit will suffer no discomfort.
The first of three signalised mid-block crossings in the $43.5 million upgrade of Queen St has met with little apparent drama.
In the stretch between Wellesley St and Victoria St, pedestrians have been given a broad but only slightly raised platform of paving slabs to cross the street on each green-light phase of about 15 seconds.
The height of the platform is barely noticeable, being just 20mm above road level, after Auckland City decided against a more radical speed bump.
Upgrade project manager Jo Wiggins said a higher crossing was rejected because of technical difficulties over drainage and wheelchair access. It would also have hindered buses and been uncomfortable for passengers.
But Ms Wiggins said the change in the road at the crossing was generally prompting motorists to slow down.
Council road safety manager Karen Hay said the 20mm bump would "certainly have an impact" on those driving too fast over it.
She believed the effect would be magnified in lowered-chassis cars associated with street racers.
She said the crossing was just one of a suite of measures aimed at making Queen St a safer and more pleasant place to be a pedestrian. The other two mid-block crossings will be installed further down Queen St - one just south of Durham St and the other just north of Fort St.
Ms Hay said they would provide an incentive for motorists to get used to driving slower before a proposed 30km/h speed limit is introduced to Queen St next year, subject to public consultations.
Although that is well below the standard urban limit of 50km/h, she said the median speed in Queen St before the upgrade project began was only 35km/h.
She said pedestrians or cyclists hit by cars travelling at 50km/h were eight times more likely to die than if struck at 30km/h, in which case they had a 90 per cent chance of surviving.
Most motorists observed by the Herald approaching the crossing last night appeared well-behaved, travelling at modest speeds, although only a few were seen to hesitate and slow down before hitting its ridges.
Mid-City Kebabs owner Mehdi Mehrabi, whose shop looks directly over the crossing at McDonald's on the other side, said pedestrians deserved a safe place to cross the street without having to walk to either end of the block.
But he was disappointed the crossing's paving stones were not painted a bolder colour.
Neither is Mr Mehrabi a fan of a council proposal to introduce bus lanes up and down much of Queen St, restricting general traffic to one lane in each direction, an arrangement he fears may drive some potential customers away.
