Gordonton corridor safety and accessibility projects

These projects tie in with similar projects in the area – which have resulted in immediate improvements – including the Gordonton and Thomas Road traffic signal and raised safety platform intersection improvements installed in 2019.

From 2017 to 2019, there were 33 recorded crashes at the Thomas Road intersection, including one death. Paired with lowering the speed limit on Gordonton Road to 60km/h, this intersection upgrade has seen significant improvements with only one crash recorded between 2020 and 2022.

About 11,000 vehicles drive through this corridor daily.

We have started using raised safety platforms at busy intersections and in areas where there is a lot of walking and biking activity, particularly near schools and key destinations. What the data tells us is a person hit by a car at 50km/h has an 80% chance of being killed. If that car is going 30km/h, their chance of death drops to 10%. Raised safety platforms help to slow traffic down.

The purpose of the raised safety platforms is to encourage drivers to slow down when entering and existing the roundabout. Raised safety platforms reduce speeds to a level where crashes can be avoided, and crash speeds are survivable. This keeps everyone safe, including pedestrians and people on bikes. International research shows raised safety platforms reduce death and serious injuries by about 40%.

The raised safety platforms are being installed near the roundabout to reduce the speed of vehicles travelling through the intersection. The platforms also line up with the preferred walking and biking routes people take when using the surrounding shared path to navigate the roundabout.

New Zealand’s first raised safety platform was installed at the Thomas Road and Gordonton Road intersection. Hamilton City Council found the platforms had no negative impact on traffic flow.

Works on Gordonton Road are expected to take place until August 2023 , with each project taking about 10 to 12 weeks to complete, depending on weather, and will take place during the day and at night. To minimise disruption, footpath works will be completed during the day and construction of the raised platforms will be done at night.

This project is part of a wider programme to improve existing intersections and make them safer for all users. Council’s ambition is to have more people walking and biking by providing a safe transport network. Safety upgrades to the Church Road – Te Rapa Road roundabout include constructing a new shared path so people can safely walk and bike to nearby destinations. 

Access Hamilton aims to move people safely around the city. We also want more people to be able to travel on foot, by bike or use micro-mobility devices such as scooters. Planned improvements to the Gordonton Road corridor support these aspirations.

This project also supports the shared vision of Council and Waka Kotahi where no one is killed or seriously injured in road crashes.

Each of these projects fall under Council’s Vision Zero – intersection improvements programme – which is 49% funded by Hamilton City Council’s Long-Term Plan 21-31, with Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Agency’s National Land Transport Plan 21-31, providing the additional 51% of funding.

These safety upgrades are about making the roundabout safer for everyone. The raised safety platforms are designed to lower vehicles’ speeds to 30km/h when travelling through the roundabout, making the intersection safer for pedestrians and people on bikes. Slowing down vehicles’ speeds also helps create gaps for drivers to enter the roundabout, which keeps traffic moving.

This project is one of a series of upgrades being made to key intersections across Hamilton. These upgrades aim to make our streets safer and more accessible for everyone, no matter how people choose to travel.

As Hamilton grows, we need to change with it. This is why we are improving road safety across our city: to give people of Hamilton greater choices to be able to get where they need to go – safely, efficiently, and on time.