We are constructing transport projects in St Albans, Edgeware and Mairehau aimed at managing the expected traffic when the Christchurch Northern Corridor opens and improving connections for pedestrians and cyclists in the area.

Cars driving on road

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The Christchurch Northern Corridor (CNC) is due to open in December 2020 and will help people travel to and from the north of Christchurch by extending the Northern Motorway from QEII Drive and Cranford Street, through to Innes Road. 

Further information about this project is available on the NZ Transport Agency website(external link).

Construction is nearing completion

Work is currently focused on the following areas:

  • Cranford Street and Sherborne Street, including the Cranford/Westminster intersection, the Cranford/Berwick intersection and installing new water mains between Berwick Street and Bealey Avenue. We are also doing significant work at the intersection of Sherborne Street and Bealey Avenue.
  • The intersection of Warrington Street and Barbadoes Street.
  • The intersection of Berwick Street and Forfar Street.
  • The intersection of Barbadoes Street and Edgeware Road.

When travelling through the area we recommend sticking to the main roads such as Madras Street, Barbadoes Street and Hills Road where possible. We will be keeping traffic moving on these roads.

Thanks for your patience while we do this disruptive work. If you have any queries about the work please contact transport@ccc.govt.nz.

What have we been working on? 

  • Road reconstruction at the Warrington Street/Forfar Street intersection.
  • Railing on the pedestrian crossing at the Bealey Avenue/Sherborne Street intersection.
  • Landscaping in Dee Street and Malvern Street where they intersect with Cranford Street.
  • Line marking on Barbadoes Street.

What's coming up?

  • Final seal at the intersection of Cranford Street and Westminster Street – weather permitting the west side of Westminster Street will be closed on Monday and Friday, while the east side of the intersection will be closed on Tuesday and Thursday.
  • Parking bay at the intersection of Madras Street and Edgeware Road.
  • Parking bay at the intersection of Hills Road and Westminster Street.
  • Traffic light work at English Park, the Edgeware/Barbadoes intersection and the Edgeware/Sherborne intersection.

Current and past consultations.

Traffic calming consultation

We begin consultation on traffic calming for specific streets later in 2020. We will start with people living near McFaddens, Weston and Knowles streets, where they intersect with Cranford Street. 

This will be followed by engagement with people on other affected roads including Mersey Street, Severn Street, Thames Street, Nancy Avenue, Kensington Avenue, Roosevelt Avenue, Flockton Street and Francis Avenue.

Past consultations

Consultation on the projects took place in July and August 2019 and more than 50 changes have been made in response to feedback.

The street meetings we had planned for March/April 2020 about future traffic calming options/ideas for your street have been postponed.

This consultation followed two previous rounds in mid-2018 and early 2019. The key themes of the previous rounds of consultation were:

  • People, not cars
  • Retaining a sense of community
  • Safety, particularly for people walking, biking and accessing local schools

Cranford Street will be reconfigured between Berwick Street and Innes Road.

We are working with our partner organisations to mitigate the expected increase in traffic on Cranford Street and other streets in a way that:

  • keeps everyone safe
  • encourages walking, cycling and use of public transport
  • keeps people moving through the area

This stretch of road will be widened slightly to allow for an extra lane. This lane will be made to allow for a bus lane or carpooling lane to operate.

A final decision on how this lane will operate (ie a bus lane, a clearway or a carpooling lane) will be made by Councillors.

Councillors have prioritised the first part of this plan, which needs to happen before the Christchurch Northern Corridor opens. They also instructed staff to investigate several other projects that are important to the community. 

Read more about the decision on Newsline.

Many intersections in the area will have changes, particularly on Cranford, Sherborne and Warrington streets.

Artists impression of the Warrington Street-Forfgar5 Street intersection

Forfar Street and Warrington Street intersection

The following changes will be made to the intersections in the area:

  • Cranford/Malvern intersection – turning restrictions will be added. The western side of Malvern Street will be left in only where it meets Cranford Street and the eastern side will be left out only.
  • Cranford/Dee intersection – turning restrictions will be added. The western side of Dee  Street will be left in left out where it meets Cranford Street and the eastern side will be left out only.
  • Cranford/Westminster intersection – changing line markings and adding cycle lanes on Westminster Street.
  • Cranford/Berwick intersection – intersection will be widened to allow an additional lane to fit through the intersection.
  • Sherborne/Edgeware intersection – cycle lanes are added on Edgeware Road and road markings will be changed.
  • Sherborne/Canon intersection – turning restrictions will be added.
  • Sherborne/Purchas intersection – turning restrictions will be added.
  • Sherborne/Bealey intersection – an additional right turning lane from Sherborne Street into Bealey Ave will be added.
  • Warrington/Forfar intersection – this will become a 'T' intersection with Forfar Street north of Warrington Street becoming a cul-de-sac.
  • Warrington Barbadoes intersection – traffic lights will be installed at this intersection.
  • Edgeware/Madras intersection – line markings will be changed and painted cycle lanes added.
  • Edgeware/Barbadoes intersection – line markings will be changed and painted cycle lanes added.
  • Canon/Madras intersection – the street will be narrowed and a speed bump added on Canon Street at the approaches to this intersection.
  • Canon/Barbadoes intersection – the street will be narrowed and a speed bump added on Canon Street at the approaches to this intersection.
  • Purchas/Madras intersection – the street will be narrowed and a speed bump added on Purchas Street at the approaches to this intersection.
  • Purchas/Barbadoes intersection –  the street will be narrowed and a speed bump added on Purchas Street at the approaches to this intersection.

The safer speed zone is now in place with signs installed over February.

A 40km/h slow speed zone has been introduced from just north of Innes Road through to Bealey Avenue.

Rutland Street/Springfield Road will act as the western boundary for the slow speed zone, which will stretch through to Hills Road in the east.

An area around the Edgeware shops will be made 30km/h. 

Safer speed zone

Cycle routes will be built to improve connections through the neighbourhood.

The Christchurch Northern Corridor will have a shared path for pedestrians and cyclists running alongside it. A connection will be built between this path and the Papanui Parallel.

It will run next to Cranford Street before turning west and linking with the Papanui Parallel at the Rutland Reserve.

The on-road cycle routes are designed to offer east-west connections to the Papanui Parallel cycleway, as well as alternative north-south routes to connect to Madras Street and Barbadoes Street.

You can see how these fit together in the map below.

We are working with our partners on a package of projects that sit alongside the Christchurch Northern Corridor.

We are working with our partners NZ Transport Agency, Waimakariri District Council and Environment Canterbury (ECan), on a package of projects that sit alongside the Christchurch Northern Corridor.

The projects include park-and-ride facilities, additional bus services and a high occupancy vehicle lane.

High occupancy vehicle lane

The NZ Transport Agency will install a lane for vehicles with more than one person in them on State Highway One and the new Christchurch Northern Corridor motorway to encourage carpooling. This lane ends just before the Cranford Street roundabout. We are investigating whether this could extend along Cranford Street.

Park-and-ride facilities

The Waimakariri District Council and NZ Transport Agency have agreed to co-fund park-and-ride facilities in the district and are currently investigating suitable locations. We are also investigating a park-and-ride facility near QEII Drive.

Bus services

ECan has agreed to provide bus services from Christchurch north that would travel along the Christchurch Northern Corridor and Cranford Street.  We are assessing the impact of bus lanes along Cranford Street and Sherborne Street that would complement an express bus services.

Pricing strategies to manage future traffic demand

Pricing strategies work best when applied across a road network and not just to a single road corridor. We are exploring different methods that could be used to implement congestion charges across the city.

Environmental monitoring 

We are collecting air quality and noise monitoring data so that we can compare the baseline data to samples we collect after the Christchurch Northern Corridor opens.

Air quality data is being collected on Cranford Street, Berwick Street, Madras Street and Barbadoes Street. We are working closely with ECan and have access to St Albans air-shed station. Monitoring began in February and we are waiting for preliminary results. We collected initial noise and vibration data at five sites on Springfield Road, Mcfaddens Road, Innes Road, Aylesford Street and Barbadoes Street.

The environmental monitoring sites have been chosen by independent experts.