We’re proposing two options for addressing and improving the safety of this intersection and we’d like to hear your views
Project status: Decision made
Open for feedback: 6th May 2019 - 10th June 2019
Consultation has now closed
Consultation on Harewood Road, Gardiners Road, Breens Road intersection has now closed. People were able to provide feedback until Monday 10 June 2019.
During this time we heard from 1085 individuals and groups. You can read their feedback below.
Consultation feedback [PDF, 1.9 MB]
Attachments to submissions [PDF, 6.8 MB]
Community Board meeting details:
The Fendalton-Waimairi-Harewood Community Board meet to hear from submitters and to consider the staff report on Saturday 17 August 2019.
Harewood Road/Gardiners Road/Breens Road intersection
Safety at the intersection of Harewood, Gardiners and Breens roads has concerned local residents for several years.

While seeking feedback on our Long Term Plan (2018-28), we received a number of requests for traffic signals at the intersection.
The Harewood Road Corridor Report was developed to look at the effect on Harewood Road of planned works in the first 10 years of the Long Term Plan.
Elected members requested staff develop improvement options for the intersection. We are now seeking your feedback on the two options selected by the elected members.
- Option 1 - Left In/Left Out with signalised pedestrian crossing
- Option 2 - Traffic Signals
As requested by Councillors, we have provided details on each of the options, the advantages and disadvantages of each, and impacts on the wider transport network.
In the Long Term Plan, a Major Cycle Route – Wheels to Wings – is planned to connect Papanui and the Airport. Various routes for the cycleway have been considered, with Harewood Road being identified as preferred for directness and connectivity. This project is still subject to future consultation with the community.
Funding
Council has allocated $400,000 funding to undertake safety improvements at this intersection. Any option that exceeds this budget would need to be included for consideration as part of the next Long Term Plan and there is no guarantee that this project would be prioritised. It is likely that another existing project would need to be deferred or a rates increase would be needed to provide the additional budget required.
How we assess accident risk
This intersection was assessed using the NZTA Crash Analysis System (CAS) and KiwiRap, an analysis tool used to rank intersection safety across New Zealand. By using nationally accepted tools, this ensures consistency of assessments.
Not all accidents are reported to Police, especially if no one is injured. The analysis tools used take into account this under reporting of accidents.
Harewood Road has three significant intersections and two of these are ranked in the top 100 dangerous intersections for Christchurch. The Harewood Road/Greers Road intersection is ranked at 21 and the Harewood/Gardiners/Breens intersection at 61. Harewood/Greers has a higher ranking as it has had a serious injury accident in the last five years and a higher number of non-injury and minor injury accidents.
The Harewood/Gardiners/Breens intersection has had 17 reported accidents between 2008 and 2017. All have been non-injury or minor injury accidents. The accident analysis shows a pattern of similar types of crashes, and the solutions developed for this intersection aim to address these accident types.
Intersection site constraints and issues
The layout of the Harewood/Gardiners/Breens intersection has existing constraints that are affecting safety.
- Harewood Road has a central median with two lanes on either side.
- There is a right-turn lane which can make it difficult to turn right or to travel through the intersection using the ‘Give Way’ controls on Gardiners Road and Breens Road.
- There are known speed issues on Harewood Road, and it can be difficult for drivers turning left to see around other waiting vehicles.
- The intersection is not easy to navigate by car, cycle or on foot.
- The speed issue is partly caused as Harewood Road is designed for a 60km/h speed limit. The posted speed limit has been lowered to 50km/h, but the wide dual lanes create an environment that encourages higher speeds.
- There are no pedestrian crossings at the intersection, with pedestrians needing to walk about 60 metres along Harewood Road to cross safely. Most pedestrians try to cross at the intersection using the narrow median for the right-turn bays.
- Harewood Road has U-turn slots along its length, two of these are located about 160 metres either side of the intersection.
- Vehicles crossing the intersection from Gardiners Road to Breens Road, or vice versa, effectively need to cross six lanes (four vehicle lanes and the two right-turning lanes) which creates several potential collision points.
- Information about crashes at the intersection, obtained from Police reports, suggests that drivers become impatient while waiting for a suitable gap in the traffic and risk using a shorter gap than is required. Vehicles turning left are turning while unable to see around other queued vehicles travelling through the intersection. This results in some drivers taking a risk and not seeing vehicles approaching on Harewood Road.
- Some vehicles have been observed turning left, then using the U-turn slots further along Harewood Road as a quicker and safer way of getting through the intersection.
- With the planned changes to the wider road network over the next 10 years, traffic volumes are expected to drop, as Sawyers Arms Road will become a more attractive route to connect to the State Highway (Johns Road).
Proposed options
Two options for improving the intersection have been developed:

Option 1: Left in/left out with signalised pedestrian crossing
A left in/left out for vehicles, with buses still having the right turn into Gardiners Road, and a pedestrian crossing signal on Harewood Road.
Option 2: Traffic signals
Traffic signals with a pedestrian crossing on each leg of the crossing.
Option 1 (left in/left out with signalised pedestrian crossing) is preferred as it is most likely to reduce accidents, with the least disruption to the wider network and construction can begin immediately with available funding.
Information sessions
Come talk to us about the proposal
Tuesday 21 May 2019 5.30pm – 7pm
(20min presentation followed by an opportunity to speak to the project team)
Breens Intermediate School Hall, 85 Breens Road, Bishopdale
Thursday 23 May 2019 10.30am – 12pm
(20min presentation followed by an opportunity to speak to the project team)
Bishopdale Community Centre, 13 Bishopdale Court, Bishopdale Shopping Centre