New Pedestrian Crossings - Broadway, SH3

Thank you to everyone who participated in the feedback process.
Elected Members met on Thursday 20 June at 10.30am to make a decision on the project moving forward. The outcome of this decision is below in our news section.

We'll provide updates to this page as the project progresses. Construction on the new pedestrian crossings are due to be complete in September 2024.



Thank you to everyone who participated in the feedback process.
Elected Members met on Thursday 20 June at 10.30am to make a decision on the project moving forward. The outcome of this decision is below in our news section.

We'll provide updates to this page as the project progresses. Construction on the new pedestrian crossings are due to be complete in September 2024.



  • Final touches to the new pedestrian crossing on Broadway

    Our contractors have added the final touches to the pedestrian crossing on Broadway!

    The plants used are Marlborough Rock Daisies and Pimelia Postrata.

  • Courtesy crossing on north Broadway making progress

    The construction crew is liking this fine weather! Progress is being made on the new crossing facility on north Broadway near Seyton Street.

    Please remember to slow down and follow the temporary speed measures in place so our crew can go about their mahi safely.

    Not too much longer, we appreciate your patience.

  • Out with the old and in with the new

    Have you walked on the new pedestrian yet? Work continues to complete the area, including filling in the stone walls at the old pedestrian crossing site. Thanks for everyone's patience as this work is underway.


  • Construction update - 29 July

    Work continues on the pedestrian experience in-between the roundabouts on Broadway.

    While the current weather forecast may cause some delay, below are the key areas of focus this week and next.

    New Pedestrian Crossing

    • Eastern side kerb extension islands, including topsoil and mobility access
    • Power, lighting and signage installation
    • Mobility access at the disability parks on both sides of the crossing, this involves connecting the footpath to the road with a level ramp

    Northern Roundabout area

    • Mobility access at the TSB Bank disability parking, this involves connecting the footpath to the road with a level ramp
    • Widening the existing island south of the roundabout, to provide more space to pedestrians (specifically those with prams or in mobility scooters) to have safe refuge between the lanes of traffic


  • Construction on new centre island underway

    You'll see the construction crew working on the centre island of the new pedestrian crossing until approximately 10 July, weather dependent. We appreciate your patience while Broadway is a sea of orange road cones! Drive safely and please follow any traffic management in place.


  • Construction update - 1 July 2024

    Physical works on the new pedestrian crossing, north of the Glockenspiel, has started.

    From Tuesday 2 July you'll see construction crews working on the following activity:

    • Removing a section of the western side rock wall at the existing crossing to make room for a temporary lane.
    • A stop go traffic control will be in place overnight on Tuesday 2 July while the crew removes the gardens at the existing crossing and install temporary pavements. This work allows the lane widths required to keep two way traffic flowing while the new pedestrian crossing's centre island is constructed.
    • From 3 July the centre median strip will be coned off to allow crew members to construct the new centre island. This is expected to take until approximately Wednesday10 July.
    • After the above is complete, the crew will begin the construction of the western side kerb extension islands.

    Construction timeframes are weather dependent.

    If you're out and about in the Stratford CBD make sure you say Kia ora to the crew putting in the work to get this pedestrian crossing built.

  • Changes made to pedestrian upgrades post community feedback

    Two new pedestrian crossings will go ahead for Broadway in Stratford, with one zebra crossing located in between the roundabouts and a courtesy crossing in the vicinity of Seyton Street. The final locations of these crossings are in response to strong community feedback received on the original proposal.

    On Thursday 20 June Stratford District Council (SDC) met to discuss the pedestrian crossing project put forward to the community for feedback early June.

    The meeting was well attended with over 30 members of the public present and two deputations were also made to Elected Members. One from a business owner on Broadway and the other from the Chair of the Stratford Business Association committee, both opposing the proposed options.

    Over 150 people participated in the feedback process for this project, either through the online engagement tools at YourSay.Stratford.govt.nz or through emailing feedback@stratford.govt.nz. The majority of those providing comments shared their disagreement in the proposed options put forward.

    In response to this, SDC elected members were presented with a range of additional options to consider alongside the original proposal in Thursday’s meeting.

    These options included the ability to:

    • decline the funding altogether and not proceed with the project.
    • defer the project and apply for funding at a later date (with the risk that this could be declined)
    • carry out traffic modelling to identify the possibility of a signalled crossing and apply for the funding later (with the risk that this could be declined)
    • construct just one new crossing in between the roundabouts north of the existing one and close access at the current Glockenspiel crossing (possible within the current funding)
    • construct a courtesy crossing in northern Broadway near Seyton Street (possible within the current funding).

    These additional options were a direct result of the feedback received from the community and illustrate the importance of community engagement.

    Elected Members deliberated the pros and cons across the options in front of them, sharing their views on their preferred way forward, which eventually came down to a vote.

    Councillor Grant Boyde moved a motion for replacing the existing crossing with one new crossing to the north of the Glockenspiel and installing a courtesy crossing on northern Broadway in an area near Seyton Street. Councillor Annette Dudley seconded this motion which was supported in a vote from 9 out of 10 Elected Members present.

    District Mayor Neil Volzke says the outcome of the discussion has landed somewhere we feel to be more representative of the wider views of our community. “It came through loud and clear that the options on the table weren’t satisfactory for a number of people, but it was also evident that people believed something needs to be done to improve pedestrian safety on State Highway 3.”

    “We think the combination of a new and improved pedestrian crossing in a fairly central location between the roundabouts and a courtesy crossing further north near Seyton Street will help alleviate the concerns raised on both sides of the argument, while at the same time improving safety for pedestrians.” he says.

    “Now we just have to get the work done, which you’ll see start as soon as Tuesday next week.”

    -

    What's a courtesy crossing?

    A courtesy crossing provides a designated area for pedestrians to cross a road. It's not marked like a zebra crossing. Instead it uses colour or other visible markers like refuge islands, to encourage drivers to slow down and look for pedestrians, and gives pedestrians somewhere to safely wait to cross the road. There is one on SH43/Regan Street, near the Bike Park entrance (pictured below).

    Drivers are not required to stop at courtesy crossings, however the official New Zealand road code recommends that drivers are courteous to pedestrians using or waiting to use a courtesy crossing.


    Initial design of central Pedestrian Zebra Crossing north of the Glockenspiel below. There may be tweaks to this prior to final implementation.

  • Broadway statistics

    Reported incidents at the existing crossing

    We're getting a few queries about the incidents occurring in Broadway. The below shows Police reported incidents at the existing crossing.

    Please note this doesn’t include near misses, or incidents that don’t involve police.

    • 2 police reported crashes in the five year period 2019 to 2023 1 pedestrian (minor) and 1 bike (non injury)
    • 3 police reported crashes in the five year period 2014 – 2018. 1 mobility scooter (non-injury) 1 pedestrian serious injury and 1 car vs car nose to tail


    Pedestrian behaviour data

    Central Taranaki Safe Community Trust did some research on pedestrian activity on Broadway in 2023 to determine if people were using the crossing facilities available.

    Their findings can be viewed in this document.

  • Extraordinary meeting called

    In accordance with Standing Order 8.3 an Extraordinary Meeting has been called for Thursday 20 June at 10.30am for a decision to be made on the pedestrian crossings on Broadway/SH3.

    At this meeting Elected Members will review feedback received, discuss options and make a final decision. We'll share the agenda for this meeting on this page when it's available next week.

    All meetings are held in the Council Chambers, Miranda Street, Stratford and are open to the public.

  • Feedback received to date

    Hey Stratford! Wow, we love how passionate you are about Broadway between the roundabouts.

    We're getting lots of feedback talking about traffic lights as an alternative, loss of car parks and potential congestion. All valid questions and comments which Elected Members will discuss when they determine the final outcome later this month.


    If you're keen to see improvements to pedestrian access in the CBD, please use the feedback form to tell us which option you like best and leave any comments. Alternatively you can do our quick poll.

    Some of you are disappointed that there isn't a "disagree" option in the feedback form. Fair call! The purpose of that form is to understand the preference of the 2 options available to SDC within the scope of the funding provided by NZ Transport Agency Waka Kotahi.
    For those that aren't sure about this project at all, or would like to provide an alternative suggestion, a comment in the online forum or an email to feedback@stratford.govt.nz is the best way to do this.

    The team here will be sharing all feedback and comments included on YourSay.Stratford.govt.nz and via our email feedback@stratford.govt.nz with Elected Members early next week before they meet to make their final decision on Thursday 20 June.
Page last updated: 11 Sep 2024, 01:37 PM