New traffic light arrow gets thumbs up at busy Hornby intersection

Motorists and pedestrians say they feel safer since a green right turning arrow was added to the Amyes Rd/Goulding Ave/Shands Rd intersection traffic lights two weeks ago.

The Greater Hornby Residents Association has been campaigning for the turning light at the busy intersection for several years – and says the feedback so far has been very positive.

Said former association member and Hornby Ward city councillor Mark Peters: “I’m hearing from many sources how fabulous the green arrows are working.

“I’ve even heard reports that the arrows even help clear approaching, not just already queued, traffic, thus making a huge improvement on travel flow and planning.”

The residents association started advocating for a green arrow from Amyes Rd into Shands Rd about five years ago.

Said Halswell councillor Andrei Moore: “I remember when I first started as the Halswell councillor about four years ago, the association had already been pushing for the green arrow – the project has been going on for years.

“It’s great that the lights were all done at the same time, and the community can now drive safely through Hornby and Halswell.” The new right-turn arrow was described by Peters as “an absolute win”.

“There are now further requests for additional arrows to be added onto Shands Rd approaching Amyes and Goulding,” said Peters.

“A huge thanks to all those involved in getting this done, it’s a great example of community and council working together to get the results the community desperately need.”

The push for the arrow came after a traffic light pole at the intersection had been hit by several vehicles and the community had to wait 18-months for a new pole to be put in.

A previous online discussion regarding the difficulty of turning right also saw about 100 people commenting on the issue.

Between January 1, 2018, and January 1, 2021, there were seven crashes at the intersection, one of which resulted in a minor injury.

Previous Christchurch City Council data showed 12,654 cars went through the intersection between 7am and 6pm on August 15, 2018. Of these, 1216 made a right turn from Amyes Rd onto Shands Rd.