Headline: Firefighters spark up at loathed traffic calming measures
Authored by: Stacey Rangitonga
Published on:16 April 2024
Published by: Waikato Times, Stuff Ltd
Link:
https://www.waikatotimes.co.nz/nz-news/350239383/firefighters-spark-loathed-traffic-calming-measures
Archived Link:
(Note: This archive link may not work)
Summary of key information in the article:
- Firefighters in Hamilton claim “traffic calming measures” are putting lives at risks.
- Hamilton City Council halted a number of roading projects in March 2024 that involved installing in-lane bus stops and raised platforms “after a “tsunami” of push-back from the public”.
- Fire and Emergency crews are often attending medical events and are attempting to resuscitate people before the ambulances arrive. Delays for fire crews can mean people die, if no ambulance is available.
- The website article features video of the Waikato Times reporter and Hamilton City Councillor Andrew Bydder riding along with the fire crew and experiencing the fire engines going over raised platforms and speed bumps around Hamilton City.
- The speed humps on the exit of roundabouts are contributing to congestion. Congestion and in-lane bus stops are causing the fire engines to wait.
- Fire and Emergency New Zealand (FENZ) are permitted to travel 25 km/h over the speed limit, however speed humps can damage fire engines at those speeds.
“These trucks were never designed to go over obstacles and that is unfortunately what they’ve built.” Quote in the Waikato Times
- Hamilton City Council’s transport unit director Gordon Naidoo claims that their is no data available that shows raised platforms are negatively effecting emergency vehicle response times and research shows that “raised safety platforms save lives”.
- The transport unit director claims that projects have been changed or stopped due to feedback from FENZ and that City Council has technology to give fire engines a series of green lights on emergency calls. Council was instructed to look a raised platform at five-cross roads and is claiming to look a more traffic calming measures.
“We agreed to do them one better and look into all the traffic calming along their key routes to make sure they’re up to current standards.
“We’ve been actively working to help Fire and Emergency map out the main routes they use to get through the city, something that doesn’t yet exist, and are waiting on feedback before we start our review.”
Hamilton City Council’s transport unit director Gordon Naidoo as quoted in the Waikato Times
- Hamilton City Councillor Andrew Bydder claims to have been contacted independently by different fire crews about problems caused by in-lane bus stops and speed bumps. The Councillor argues for removal or modification of these traffic calming measures as they have created a safety risk.
[Editors note: The claims from Hamilton City Council transport director are very similar to those from Auckland Transport in last month’s NZ Herald and RNZ articles. The technology for giving emergency vehicles green lights was mentioned as well as the blame for delays being put on factors other than traffic calming measures . Lack evidence/data for delays caused by traffic calming is also a recurring claim. CityWatch NZ has published an article on the disadvantages and negative impacts of “traffic calming” citing some international studies which mention the known adverse impacts on emergency vehicles. Given the large numbers of speed humps, fire engines, and GPS trackers which exist in the world, there is a worrying small amount of research focused on recording the negative impacts of “traffic calming measures” on emergency vehicles.]
