Efficiency
on Cranford Street (encouraging drivers to stay on the main road during peak times)
People were able to provide feedback from 29 July to 26 August 2024.
You will be able to read their feedback and the staff recommendation once an agenda is available for the Waipapa Papanui Innes Central Community Board meeting, which we expect to be in October.
The Christchurch Northern Corridor (CNC) opened in 2020 to provide improved public transport options, safe walking and cycling routes, faster journey times, and reduced congestion from North Canterbury to Christchurch City. As we expected, the CNC introduced a range of downstream effects, including increased traffic on Cranford Street and throughout the St Albans area. To prepare for this, in 2018 we began early investigations into how we could improve efficiency on Cranford Street.
In April 2018 we asked the public for feedback on several proposals aimed at easing the effects of the CNC. This included a proposal for peak-hour clearways on Cranford Street, between Innes Road and Berwick Street. The clearways would've used on-street carpark space to create a second southbound lane during the morning peak (7-9am) and a second northbound lane for the evening peak (4-6pm).
Of 407 submitters, 65% (263) supported the peak-hour clearways. Of submitters from St Albans, Edgeware and Mairehau, 63% (194) were supportive of the clearways.
In 2019 Council staff recommended a refined clearway proposal as the most effective option for managing the expected increase in traffic from the CNC. However, during this second round of consultation, we received feedback from partner organisations and key stakeholders, urging the Council to explore solutions that encouraged greater bus use.
As a result, the proposed clearway was not approved, and the elected Council directed staff to investigate options that would improve bus travel.
We've been operating peak-hour bus lanes between Innes Road and Berwick Street since 2021. This was implemented as a temporary road layout, and now a future road layout needs to be decided on and installed.
As part of the approval process for the CNC, the Environment Court issued a Notice of Requirement (NoR) to the Council.
It set out the following legal obligations. Christchurch City Council must:
The Environment Court’s NoR directs the Council to prioritise keeping traffic on Cranford and Sherborne streets to prevent traffic from increasing through neighbouring side streets.
Other priorities for this project have emerged through the feedback we’ve received from local residents, businesses and commuters. Additionally, we’ve worked with the Waipapa Papanui-Innes-Central Community Board, the St Albans Residents’ Association and other partner organisations to understand their priorities.
on Cranford Street (encouraging drivers to stay on the main road during peak times)
for everyone, regardless of how they travel
Read more about safety in the 'additional improvements' section.
for local residents and commuters (supporting bus use and ridesharing) to reduce congestion and emissions
supporting people to easily move around their neighbourhood.
While confident cyclists may use the peak-hour lanes, the recommended cycle route through the area is the Papanui Parallel cycleway. Less confident cyclists can also use the shared path between Berwick Street and Westminster Street.
We have not included cycle lanes in the plans for Cranford Street, due to the lack of space on the road. Instead, we’ve prioritised accommodating the high volume of traffic travelling through the area, which also maintains on-street parking outside of peak times.
Currently, the southbound T2 lane on the CNC is on the right side, while the proposed peak-hour lane needs to be on the left side. This means all vehicles would be required to manoeuvre into the opposite lane between QEII Drive and Innes Road.
If a T2 lane is the preferred option, the CNC southbound lane may be reconfigured to address this concern. This would be done in collaboration with NZ Transport Agency Waka Kotahi. However, a T2 extension would require significant collaborative planning and resourcing, with certainty and timing not yet known.
A future T2 extension would involve:
It would also require:
We’re proposing to introduce a northbound peak-hour clearway on Cranford Street, between Berwick Street and Westminster Street.
This will help to address safety concerns raised by the local community about the signalised crossing by English Park. Two traffic lanes currently merge after the crossing, causing driver distraction and orange and red light running.
The peak-hour clearway will also improve traffic efficiency and allow for additional on-street car parks.
We’re proposing to install a high-friction, coloured road surfacing at the approaches to the signalised pedestrian crossing by English Park.
This, in addition to the peak-hour clearway, will help to make the crossing safer.
We’re proposing to install high-friction, coloured road surfacing on all of the intersection approaches at the Westminster/Cranford Street intersection.
This will help to address concerns about safety raised by local schools, which is caused by drivers running red lights and travelling at unsafe speeds.
We’re also proposing to upgrade the southbound ‘no right turn’ signage at the Westminster/Cranford intersection to electronic signage. The sign would light up when enforced.
The turning ban is a mitigation to prevent morning commuter traffic from shortcutting through side streets.
Could red light cameras be installed at the Westminster Street / Cranford Street intersection?
The management and enforcement of red-light cameras is transferring from the New Zealand Police to NZTA Waka Kotahi, who have better capacity to enforce them. This means we may be able to consider installing cameras at a later stage on the Westminster/Cranford intersection to address dangerous driving behaviour.
Currently, southbound traffic exiting the Innes/Cranford intersection merges into one lane before the peak-hour bus lane begins. Across all options, we’re proposing to extend the two traffic lanes further south, to meet the peak-hour lane.
This change would improve efficiency on Cranford Street, helping to keep traffic on the arterial route.
Due to the extended length of the peak-hour lanes, six P60 car parks will be added north of the Westminster/Cranford intersection and eight P60 car park spaces will be added south of the intersection.
Too much information? Hear from our project team as they talk about the history of Cranford Street, the options and answer questions.
Your feedback will be considered before a decision is made.
Once you've provided feedback, we're keen to hear about ways to make it easier for you to tell us what you think.
We will get back to you as soon as possible, however for more technical questions this may take a number of days.
To ask a question you must create an account or log in.
These are the people that are listening and responding to your questions.
{{ question.username }} asked
| Question asked to {{ question.respondent.name }}
Category: {{ question.category }}
{{question.description}}
This site is owned and operated by Christchurch City Council using software licensed from Social Pinpoint.
For details on how Christchurch City Council collects and protects your personal information, refer to their Privacy Policy.
For details of how Social Pinpoint may access personal information, please refer to Social Pinpoint’s Privacy Policy.
The following Terms and Conditions govern the use of Kōrero Mai | Let’s talk (“the site”). The software platform is owned by Social Pinpoint Pty Ltd and operated by Christchurch City Council.
By accessing and using this site, you are choosing to accept and comply with the Terms presented throughout this agreement as well as the Privacy Policy and Moderation Policy. These Terms apply to all visitors and users of this site. Linked sites, affiliated services or third party content or software have their own Terms that you must comply with. If you disagree with any of the Terms presented in this agreement, you may discontinue using the site immediately.
If you are under 18 years old, please ensure that your parent or guardian understands and accepts these Terms and Conditions (including the Privacy Policy and Moderation Policy).
What are the conditions with a user’s account?
While using the site, you must not violate any applicable laws and regulations. It is our duty to protect the confidentiality of content you provide on our site in accordance with our Privacy Policy. When you create an account with us, you must always provide us with accurate information. Failure to provide accurate information violates the Terms, which may result in immediate termination of your account on our service. You are responsible for protecting your own password you use for this site and for any activities done under that password. Unauthorised use of your password or account must be immediately reported to us. In some cases, we or our agents may require access to your user accounts to respond to technical issues.
We are not responsible for the content on the site that has been provided by the users of the site. Any content posted by you is subject to the rules of our Moderation Policy. Your contribution to the site may be edited, removed or not published if we consider it inappropriate (refer to Moderation Policy). Contributors should also be aware that their posts may remain online indefinitely. Where practical, you may choose not to identify yourself, deal with us on an anonymous basis or use a pseudonym.
What do we require from our users?
You must understand and agree that, without limitation:
Can your account be suspended or terminated?
We may terminate or suspend access to your site and/or account immediately, without prior notice, including without limitation if you breach the Terms. We may immediately deactivate or delete your account and all the related files and information in your account. After your account has been terminated, the content you have posted may also remain indefinitely on the site.
If you want to terminate your own account, please send an email to letstalk@ccc.govt.nz
Governing Law
These Terms shall be governed in accordance with the laws of Aotearoa New Zealand, without regards to its conflict of law provisions.
Indemnification
Christchurch City Council, its subsidiaries, affiliates, officers, agents, licensors and other partners are not responsible for any loss, liability, claim, or demand, including legal fees, made by any third party due to or arising from a breach of this agreement and/or any breach of your representations and warranties set forth above.
What content do we own?
This website contains the copyrighted material, trademarks, patents, trade secrets and other proprietary information (“Intellectual Property”) of Christchurch City Council and its suppliers and licensors. Christchurch City Council owns and retains all proprietary rights in the intellectual property. All intellectual property in the content of this site including without limitation to text, software, source code, pages, documents and online graphics, photographs, sounds, audio, video and other interactive features are owned by or licensed to us.
Any original content that you submit or post on our site may be made available to the public and allows users to share your content (with the end user acknowledging your contribution) under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 New Zealand License.
Except for Intellectual Property which is in the public domain or for which you have been given written permission, you may not copy, alter, transmit, sell, distribute any of the Intellectual Property on this site.
We are not responsible for your communications or dealings, including payment and delivery of goods or services, with a third party found via our website. Any loss or damage incurred from those communications or dealings are solely between the user and the third party.
Disclaimer and Warranties
Users must agree that you use of the site is at your own risk. We make no warranty that the site will meet your requirements or be uninterrupted or error-free. Any material that the user downloads through the site is done at their own risk and are responsible for any damages to their computer system or loss of data.
What happens if these Terms change?
We reserve the right, at our sole discretion, to modify or replace these Terms at any time without notice. The most recent version of the Terms can be seen on this page. By continuing to access or use our site after those revisions become effective, you agree and will comply to the revised terms. If you do not agree to the revised terms, please discontinue using our site.
Contact Us
If you have any questions about these Terms, please contact us at letstalk@ccc.govt.nz
Enter your email address below. We will send you instructions to reset your password.
Back to Log in
Creating an account means we can keep in touch about projects in your neighbourhood.
Sign up with email
Already have an account? Log in now
Thank you, your account has been created.
Completing the questions below helps us better understand who we’re hearing from. These questions are optional.
You’re using an outdated browser.
Some features of this website may not work correctly. To get a better experience we strongly recommend you download a new browser for free:
Would you like to follow this project to receive email updates?