Cyclists concerned about rumble strips to be fitted soon on SH 23

Raglan and Waikato cyclists are concerned about the rumble strips to be fitted soon on SH 23. The installation of the rumble strips was announced by the NZ Transport Authority (NZTA) in late April.  Peter Bos of Cycle Action Waikato and local cycling champion John Lawson have raised their concerns with NZTA.

John Lawson asked, “Are shoulders being widened where necessary before rumble strips are put in, which would otherwise force cyclists out into the carriageway?”

NZTA replied saying:

NZTA guidelines for rumble strips along edge lines are summarised as follows: 

• 1m minimum shoulder width from edge of seal to rumble strip be provided
• If this shoulder width cannot be provided then no rumble strip will be installed on that edge line
• This is for the benefit of cyclists.

In our stage 1 works for the Waitetuna to Raglan section of SH23, which is beginning now, we are installing rumble strips on the centreline only.

 

In our stage 2 works for Waitetuna to Raglan, which will take place later in the year, we will install edge line rumble strips on the outside of some high risk curves, but where we do so we will ensure that we will provide a 1.0m minimum sealed shoulder for cyclists.

 

I hope this answers your concerns.

After receiving this response, Peter Bos then put this query to NZTA:

“We highlight cycle lane width should be 2.0 metre wide and not 1.0 metre maybe NZTA minimum for placing of rumble strips, but can you confirm the one metre minimum is not target. Narrow cycle lanes were three to four times less safe than wider cycle lanes. NZTA report 389.”

The initial submission to NZTA pointed out that, “More cyclists die on rural roads than urban ones, and rural injuries are twice as severe as those at urban speeds (70 km/h or less), with 39 % of reported injury crashes involving death or serious injury.

The typical crash involves a cyclist being struck from behind on a straight road.

The submission quoted NZTA’s own pedestrian planning design guide

P112. 14.12 Shared-use paths – Ideally, keep a 1.5 m separation between the path and any adjacent roadway

P123. 2.0m minimum width for speeds over 70km/h

No response has been received to this latest query to NZTA.