Get Moving: Road rules for builders

By PHOEBE FALCONER



Several people have noticed how building companies are occupying roads seemingly for months on end allowing trucks to park or manoeuvre as building sites are developed.

Q. George Lazarus, of Avondale, asks: "These people are making the buildings for a buck so do they get the use of a city road for free?"

Another motorist, Anthony King of Epsom, says lanes in Nelson St have been closed between 9am and 6pm on weekdays so building-site workers could remove soil. But Mr King has noticed that almost always the end of the road has been cordoned off from about 7.30am, causing everyone to swerve and brake suddenly. He asks if the builders are operating outside their consent.

And Maureen Tomlinson of Herne Bay says lanes on three busy roads around her are constantly cut off. "How much right do building sites have to cut off lanes of traffic and footpaths with their orange cones?"

A. The Auckland City Council traffic and roading services group says requests from construction companies to block off lanes or footpaths are considered only if the construction companies cannot work from within the site they are developing.

Consideration is given to health and safety legislation as well as other road users to allow a balanced use of the road. It comes at a cost.

Officers also monitor the sites to make sure companies do not breach their resource consents to close off lanes or footpaths.

In the case of Nelson St, the traffic and roading services group is aware of what has been happening and has issued a verbal warning to those responsible.


* Do you have questions about public transport, roading projects, roadworks or how to get a driver's licence?
>> Email the Herald