Notice is hereby given pursuant to the Local Government Act 1974, Section 342 that Morris Street, between Latham Street and Nelson Crescent, will be closed to all traffic on Wednesday 20 February 2013 from 10.00am to 12 midnight. (Access for residents only will be available at all times).

This closure is to accommodate the One Day International Cricket Match at McLean Park.

ART DECO WEEK, 15-17 February 2013

Notice is hereby given pursuant to the Local Government Act 1974, section 342, that the following roads will be closed on the dates as listed:

Friday 15 February - 12 noon to 5.30pm Sunday 17 February

• Emerson Street from Hastings Street to Herschell Street
• Herschell Street from Emerson Street to Tennyson Street

Friday 15 February - 5.30pm through to 5.30pm Sunday 17 February

• Marine Parade from Albion Lane to Herschell Street
• Tennyson Street from Hastings Street to Marine Parade

(There will be no on street parking available within this area, any unauthorised vehicles will be towed away at the owners risk and expense)

Friday 15 February – 5.30pm to midnight

• Hastings Street from Tennyson Street to Dickens Street

Saturday 16 February – 6.00am to 2.30pm

Vintage Car Parade

• Emerson Street from Clive Square East to Clive Square West
• Clive Square East and Clive Square West full length
• Carlyle Street from Tennyson Street to Clive Square West

(There will be no on street parking available within this area, any unauthorised vehicles will be towed away at the owners risk and expense)

Saturday 16 February - 10.30am to midnight
Street Party / Twilight Toe Tap

• Emerson Street from Clive Square East to Hastings Street
• Dalton Street from Tennyson Street to Dickens Street
• Hastings Street from Dickens Street to Tennyson Street

Sunday 17 February 9.00am to 1.00pm
Soap Box Derby

• Tennyson Street from Herschell Street to Cathedral Lane
• Hastings Street from Emerson Street to Browning Street

Serious Crash at 1803 hrs Clevedon Rd and Kawakawa Rd, Clevedon.

One car involved. One occupant with serious injuries.

Road closed for approx 2-3 hours.

Traffic being diverted down monument road.

Police in attendance. Nil further known at this time.

Notice is hereby given pursuant to the Local Government Act 1974, Section 342 that the following roads will be closed to all traffic from 1.00pm to 7.00pm on Tuesday 19 February 2013:

• Marine Parade from Albion Street to Tennyson Street
• Herschell Street from Tennyson Street to Emerson Street
• Emerson Street from Herschell Street to Hastings Street

Detours will be in place at Vautier Street

Church Road Winery Classic Hits Concert

Notice is hereby given pursuant to the Local Government Act 1974, Section 342 that the following road closures will be in place on Wednesday 6 February from 3.00pm to 11.00pm.

Tironui Drive full length

Notice is further given that the walkway connecting Church Road to Pukekura Place and Halliwell Reserve will be closed to all pedestrian traffic from 3.00pm to 8.00pm on Wednesday 6 February 2013.

As part of its ongoing safety programme, the NZ Transport Agency is making further improvements on State Highway 2 over the Rimutaka Hill. Over the next four months approximately 3.5km of guardrail will be constructed at a number of locations over the Rimutaka Hill at a cost of $918,000.

"We've been working hard to improve the safety of this challenging stretch of road, and these barriers follow the installation of 1km of barriers early last year and the completion of the Muldoon's Corner safety project," says NZTA Wellington state highways manager Rod James.

"To enable us to install the barriers safely, we have speed restrictions and traffic control in place, so we ask that drivers stick to the speed limit and follow the directions of the road signs.  This important work is likely to cause minor delays so please allow a few extra minutes for your journey.

"We are also shortly carrying out work to resurface sections of the Rimutaka Hill Road over February to provide a safer, more skid-resistant road surface, and these safety initiatives will be carried out in close coordination."

The NZTA thanks drivers for their patience and understanding while this work to improve road safety is carried out.

Northland Police investigating the circumstances around how a pedestrian came to be struck first by a member of the public's vehicle and then by a following patrol car say it appears neither driver was at fault.

District Road Policing Manager, Inspector Murray Hodson, said emergency services were called to an incident on SH1 about 1km out from Kaikohe about midnight.

"The crash is currently under investigation by the Serious Crash Unit however initial indications are that the incident happened in an area controlled by a 100km/h speed limit.

"It appears that a member of the public was driving west along SH12, followed by a marked Police car, when the first vehicle has run over a man wearing dark clothing who had been lying on the road. The following Police car has then also run over the man."

Mr Hodson said it had not yet been established why the man was lying in the road and Police understood the man had been consuming alcohol prior to him being found in the westbound lane.

"The speed of the vehicle's at the time of the incident was about 75-80km/h and the Police patrol was not engaged in urgent duty driving at the time of the crash.

"The victim has suffered serious but non-life threatening injuries predominantly to his lower body and legs and he is currently in Northland Hospital. At this time our officers are attempting to locate and advise the injured man's family."

Mr Hodson said as well as being investigated by Police, the matter has been reported to the Independent Police Conduct Authority.

"Indications are at this stage neither driver would have been able to take evasive action to avoid hitting the prone man and our enquiry examining the actions of both drivers will continue.

"Although this enquiry is in its early stages, from the circumstances as we understand them, I am comfortable with the actions of both drivers”.

State Highway 30 (SH30) Ruato Bay will be closed overnight for three consecutive nights so investigations can be carried out to determine an effective solution to stabilise the cliff face which caused a large slip last year and reduced a section of this road to one lane.

The NZ Transport Agency says the works will be undertaken at night to minimise disruption to traffic during the day when this road is much busier.  The works which will be managed by the Rotorua District Council and will start from 10pm on Sunday 10 February and continue through to Wednesday 13 February finishing each morning at 5am - well before day time traffic builds up.

“Due to the limited space available the closure of SH30 at Ruato Bay is essential to allow the investigation works to be carried out that will determine what foundation needs to be designed for the new road”, says NZTA’s Bay of Plenty state highways manager, Brett Gliddon.

The section of road to be closed along SH30 at Ruato Bay (along the shores of Lake Rotoiti) will be near the Lake Okataina turnoff, approximately 20km from Rotorua city.

During this period road users are encouraged to alter their travel plans if they coincide with the closure times, or alternatively, if travelling to/from the Eastern Bay take State Highway 2 and State Highway 33 (via Paengaroa) to avoid the site altogether.

“A detour will be in place and drivers are asked to use SH2 and 33 (via Paengaroa) if travelling from Whakatane and Kawerau; or SH33 and SH2 if travelling from Rotorua to Whakatane.  This is a longer distance, adding up to an hour to journey times so motorists will need to allow adequate time”, says Mr Gliddon.
     
He says, “There is no ideal time to carry out investigations and we need to get this work done so we can design and build a safe permanent solution.”

Following the investigation, the next process is for the preferred solution to be designed and the works tendered to a contractor to carry out the repairs.

It is likely that this construction work will require full closure of the highway, for periods during the day, over some weeks. The full closure is required due to very limited road and construction space available. The permanent repairs are likely to be underway by late April to July 2013, the road will remain a single lane with signalised lights controlling traffic until the works commence in late April.

Mr Gliddon says SH30 is an important link between Rotorua, Kawerau, Whakatane and the wider Eastern Bay of Plenty, it is also a key heavy vehicle route to the Port of Tauranga and ensuring the security of this road is vital for the Bay of Plenty’s economy.

Motorists wanting to find out more about these road works or the detour route should go to the NZTA’s website at www.nzta.govt.nz/traffic/current-conditions; or freephone 0800 4HIGHWAYS (0800 44 44 49).

Police are reminding drivers to slow down near schools as the majority of school children return to school next week, and as the country marks the lowest January road toll on record.

"We will be focusing on enforcing reduced tolerances around schools and will take action against any driver found to be driving more than 4km /hr over the permanent posted speed limit," said Acting National Road Policing Manager, Inspector Pete McKennie.

“The key risk times are weekdays between 7.30am and 9am and from 3pm to 4.30pm when children are dropped off and collected from school,” he said.

“We will be reminding people to slow down when driving near schools, especially during the high risk times and we will be rigorously enforcing speed limits within 250 metres on each side of school boundaries.”

The call comes as last month marked the lowest road toll for January on record, and the fourth lowest month ever, since records first began in 1965.

The provisional road toll for January 2013 stands at 18, which is 17 fewer than for the same period in 2012, and 10 fewer than in 2011. The road toll for February 2012 was 16, among one of the lowest months on record.

“While eighteen deaths for January is still 18 too many – it is encouraging to see the numbers moving in the right direction, and more road users doing the right thing,” said Inspector McKennie. “That said, the challenge to all of us using the roads is to keep up the good effort and maintain our focus behind the wheel if we are to bring that number down further, and spare more families the grief of losing loved ones.

“While Police and its road safety partners are all working hard to improve road safety, it is essential that road users maintain a high level of attention to keep everyone safe on the roads, particularly as children return to school.”

Rural roads present a particular risk as many are located on roads with 100km speed limits and there are large numbers of vehicles including school buses around the school. Making sure that every child arrives and leaves school safely requires special care and attention.

Police introduced the reduced speed tolerance the vicinity of schools in 2006. It targets our most vulnerable road users - child pedestrians.

The probability of death for a pedestrian rises steeply from 10 per cent at an impact speed of 30 km/h to 70 per cent at 50 km/h. The risks for vulnerable pedestrians, such as young children, are higher.

"We really need to reduce speeds around our vulnerable youngsters and we also need to accept that people, including children, will make mistakes on the road. It’s up to all of us to share responsibility for making the roads as safe as we can. Driving at lower speeds around schools when kids are coming and going is part of that," said Inspector McKennie .

Reduce your risks of hitting a child by:

•       Always driving to the conditions. This may be at the speed limit or slower. If there are lots of pedestrians and cyclists around, particularly children, then check your speed. Slowing down helps keep kids safe.
•       Expecting the unexpected. Drivers need to be ready and able to stop when driving around children.
•       Watching out for school speed zones and reducing speed.
•       Slowing down to a maximum speed of 20km/h when passing a stationary school bus.

As a result of a car crash involving the one vehicle, South Head Road is blocked between Slater Road and Tarawera Road.

There are no alternative diversion routes available for motorists to use and motorists are asked to avoid the area and delay their travel if in the vicinity of the crash.

Emergency services are at the scene.

No further details of the crash or details of the vehicle occupants and their injuries are yet known.

Police in Blenheim are currently dealing with a male who has barricaded himself into a room at a premises and making threats.

As a result of these threats some areas of Blenheim have been cordoned off while Police negotiate with the individual.

The road is closed in Main Street and diversions are in place until further notice.

Relieving Area Commander Inspector Ross Grantham would like to thank local businesses in the vicinity for their assistance and understanding and apologises for the inconvenience caused while police deal with this ongoing incident.

Traffic flows in the east of the city will ease from next Tuesday (29 January) when a key transport link opens.

The opening of Wairere Drive through to Ruakura Road will see two new sets of traffic signals  turned on – at Bisley Rd intersection (formerly East St) and at Ruakura Road – and includes a  new rail overbridge over the east coast main trunk railway.

The opening of this final 600m of road marks the completion of the 3.5km section of Wairere Drive from Crosby Road through to Ruakura Road. The two year project which cost $35 million has been completed on time and on budget.

There will still be significant traffic management around Ruakura Rd, but Council and its contractors were keen to open the route as soon as possible given the major road works and traffic management at the Ruakura Rd/Peachgrove Rd/Te Aroha St intersection, as well as opening the link ahead of the start of the school year from next week.

The four lane arterial route also includes shared walking and cycle pathways alongside it.

The final surfacing of Wairere Drive from Crosby Road to Fifth Avenue roundabout also gets underway next week, and is expected to take two weeks, with work weather dependent. A special low noise surface will be put down which will minimise road surface noise for residents in the area.

City Development Acting Unit Manager Martin Mould says: “It’s great to see this section of Wairere Drive open and I know Hamilton residents will be very pleased also because it will make getting around a whole lot easier for them.

“This is a busy part of the city and the full opening of this stretch of Wairere Drive will greatly improve traffic flows through the eastern part of our city, which includes many schools and the university.”

Facts about the 3.5km Crosby Rd – Ruakura Rd section of Wairere Drive

• 3600m of brand new shared walking and cycling pathways
• 110,000 trees and shrubs planted
• 15km of new concrete kerbing
• 106,000 square metres of new road surfacing
• 4600m of new stormwater pipe work under the road
• 24km of continuous road marking
• 250,000 cubic metres of new fill material brought onto site