Cambridge's temporary traffic changes to be removed early

The coloured dots at the intersection of Clare and Grey streets in Cambridge will be removed. Photo / Supplied

Waipā District Council is removing pink and blue dots and a one-way street in Cambridge early following community feedback.

The dots and one-way street are part of 25 temporary changes being trialled in the Streets for People project to make streets safer for kids to walk, bike and scooter to school.

The pop-up cycleway on Wilson and Duke streets will be reduced to restore two-way vehicle access to upper Duke St. The remainder of the cycleway will be left in place for the duration of the trial.

Pink and blue dots at a number of intersections and some of the speed cushions on Bryce St will also be removed.

The changes come after council received a significant amount of feedback from residents and community groups in addition to their own traffic and pedestrian monitoring assessing the effectiveness of the temporary changes.

Waipā District Council service delivery group manager Dawn Inglis says although council is dismantling part of the cycleway early, they have learnt a lot from this trial.

"An average of 396 people are using the cycleway each day and there has been a 56 per cent increase in the number of kids cycling to school and other cyclists biking on Wilson and Duke streets.

"Kids and their parents now use the cycleway on a daily basis to get to and from school and feel much safer because of it."

She says that parts of the community reported the one-way access isn't working well and has created more congestion on other streets.

"Emergency services have also told us it makes it tricky for them to respond to emergencies in the west of Cambridge and difficult for their volunteers to get to the station."

According to Inglis, the trial had shown a permanent solution is needed on upper Duke St to provide a safe space for cyclists while maintaining two lanes of traffic.

"We know the cycleway at this spot is well used and is needed to get kids to school safely, but a permanent solution would need to allow for two-way access for vehicles. This is something we will be looking at later this year."

Further changes will be made to the network while the trial is under way to further reflect community feedback. Council will make a final decision at the end of June on which changes to make permanent and which to remove.

The Streets for People project is part of a nationwide initiative to make towns and cities more people friendly and is 90 per cent funded by Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Agency.