Nelson City Council is upgrading the roundabout at the intersection of Toi Toi Street and St Vincent Street, installing four raised crossings.

Nelson Mayor Nick Smith says the roundabout has been identified as having a high crash rate and improving road design at accident black spots is a Council priority.

“This Victory roundabout is an accident black spot and heavily used by residents, commuters, children and cyclists travelling between central Nelson and the Railway Reserve. The new crossings will go a long way towards improving the safety of the roundabout. These measures have long been called for by the Victory community and I am pleased this project is getting underway."

The roundabout was identified in the NZTA Waka Kotahi safety programme as an area with a crash rate that needs to be addressed.

In the 10 years from 2012 to 2021, there were 26 crashes – two resulting in serious injury. Of these, eight involved cyclists and one pedestrian. Council was awarded funding of $1 million for the project from NZTA and the criteria for the funding meant the timeline between awarding the tender and beginning the work was tight. This means the physical work is due to start next week.

KidsCrossing Nelson Whakatu Facebook page administrator Andrea Warn is a strong advocate for safe active travel in communities throughout Nelson.

“I advocated for six years for speed bumps to be installed on my street in the Brook following multiple accidents and some motorists travelling at high speed. In the three years since they’ve been installed there’s been no accidents, and a drastic drop in speed."

This led Andrea to advocate for other Nelson communities. “For so many neighbourhoods it’s not just speed that is an issue, but also the volume of traffic. Victory has many residents who don’t drive, so their only form of transport is usually walking or cycling, and this area, specifically this roundabout, is just so unsafe to cross.”

Pierre Hammond is a Victory resident, a parent and a keen cyclist and has experienced firsthand how dangerous the roundabout is after being hit by a car.

“I don’t use the roundabout anymore. I was incredibly lucky it was only a small vehicle that could stop quickly once the driver realised I was there, but it still knocked me off my bike and crushed my back wheel. I was wearing high vis, had lights on my bike and checked both ways, she just didn’t see me.”

Pierre welcomes the changes to his neighbourhood. “It’s a great opportunity to make this area a lot safer than it currently is. This is a change that will save lives.”

Victory Primary School Tumuaki Dan George also welcomes the roundabout upgrades.

“As a community-centred school, we fully tautoko any initiative that helps keep our tamariki and community safe. Many of our children walk, bike, or scooter to kura and the new crossings will give them more confidence in doing so. It’s a big thumbs-up from us and we’re very grateful.”

The project begins the week of Monday 13 May 2024 and is expected to take 12 weeks to complete, weather dependent. The bulk of the project will be the installation of four raised crossings.

Acting Group Infrastructure Manager David Light says raised crossings were chosen for this project because they offer both pedestrian safety and traffic calming benefits.

“Raised crossings act as a physical reminder for drivers to slow down. These raised platforms, which have zebra crossings marked on top, give pedestrians and cyclists the right of way.

In addition to the raised crossings, the footpath around the south side of the intersection will be extended and concrete islands will be installed in the medians of each road. This will help with traffic calming, and visibility. There will be road closures in place while the work is carried out. These will be clearly signposted and shared through the Antenno app and Council’s Facebook page.

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