Project introduction

More travel choices along SH75 Halswell Road between Dunbars and Curletts Roads. Bus lanes will increase bus reliability and improve bus journey times. Off-road paths will make it safer for walkers and cyclists. On-road improvements will make it safer for everyone travelling this stretch of road.

  • Project type

    Road improvements
  • Project status

    Design

Subscribe to updates

What does subscribing mean? Please read our Privacy statement

 

Project background

Halswell Road is a key bus route and significant delays are experienced during peak travel times.

Halswell and nearby Wigram and Aidanfield suburbs are growing fast, with more people expected to move into southwest Christchurch over the next 30 years. There are also planned new commercial and residential developments in north Halswell. This growth puts more demand on our roads, so we’ve designed improvements, including new bus lanes, to make it safer and easier for people to get to and from the city and travel along Halswell Road between Dunbars Road and Curletts Road.

Whether taking the bus, walking, cycling, scooting or driving our improvements will make it safer and more enjoyable for people travelling along this stretch of Halswell Road.

Key features

  • Bus lanes (operating hours, bus stop locations and features)

    Bus lanes in both directions

    - will increase bus reliability and improve bus journey times between the south-west suburbs and the central city
    - cyclists, who would like to ride on-road, will be able to use the wide (4.2m) bus lanes

    Bus lane operating hours

    • Between Augustine Drive and Curletts Road heading into the city (north side of the road)
      - Monday to Friday during the morning peak - from 7am to 9am
      - Saturday from 10am to 2pm.
    • Between Curletts Road and Monsaraz Boulevard heading out of the city towards Halswell (south side of the road)
      - Monday to Friday during the late afternoon/evening peak - from 3pm to 6pm
      - Saturday from 10am to 2pm.
    • Between Augustine Drive/Monsaraz Boulevard and Dunbars Road - full time (24/7) in both directions.

    We changed the weekday hours of operation of the bus lanes between Augustine Drive/Monsaraz Boulevard and Curletts Road to be consistent with the hours of operation for the bus lanes along Lincoln Road.

    The Saturday operating hours take into account congestion resulting from Saturday sports traffic.

    We will monitor the bus lanes once they are installed and operating, and consider changes if appropriate.

    Bus stop locations and features

    We have also reviewed the number, spacing and location of the bus stops along this stretch of SH75 Halswell Road to provide the best service possible. 

    The types of things we consider when planning bus stops include:

    • more evenly spaced stops – about 400m apart, not too close together that journey times are affected, and not so far apart that they are too far to walk to
    • close to sideroads so they are easy to get to from the surrounding area
    • close to places people want to go to such as Ngā Puna Wai Sports Hub
    • located near pedestrian crossings to help people, who need to cross the road, to get to and from the bus stop

    Bus stop number

    Direction
    (toward)

    Current Location

    Proposed Location

    Comments

    Features at proposed location

    Seat

    Shelter

    Real Time Information

    38109

    City

    240 Halswell Road

    240 Halswell Road

     

    Y

    Y*

    Y

    22092

    City

    1 Aidanfield Drive, (Halswell Road frontage)

    206 Halswell Road

    Stop to move about 300m north (toward the city) to about 100m north of the Aidanfield Drive intersection.

    Y

    Y**

    Y

    12719

    Halswell

    201 Halswell Road

    201 Halswell Road

     

    Y

    Y**

    Y

    54124

    Halswell

    Corner Monsaraz Bouelvard and Halswell Rd

    South of corner of Monsaraz Bouelvard and Halswell Road

    Stop to move about 80m south (toward Halswell) of the intersection.

    Y

    Y*

    N

    54111

    City

    Corner Augustine Drive and Halswell Road

    Corner Augustine Drive and Halswell Road

    No change to the bus location.

    Y

    Y*

    Y

    12653

    City

    186 Halswell Road

    -

    Stop to be removed.

    The closest stop would be at Warren Crescent (west).

     

     

     

    12695

    Halswell

    175 Halswell Road

    -

    Stop to be removed.

    The closest stop would be at Warren Crescent (west).

     

     

     

    40853

    City

    170 Halswell Road

    170 Halswell Road

    Stop to move slightly to west (toward Halswell) to provide space needed for the two-way cycle path and reduce the number of trees that would need to be removed.

    Y

    Y*

    N

    12364

    Halswell

    135 Halswell Road

    159 Halswell Rd

    Stop to move about 200m west (toward Halswell).

    Y

    N ***

    N

    40415

    City

    126 Halswell Road

    128 Halswell Rd

    This move would provide space needed for the two-way cycle path and reduce the number of trees that would need to be removed.

    Y

    Y*

    N

    12774

    Halswell

    107 Halswell Road

    113 Halswell Rd

    Stop to move about 100m west (toward Halswell).

    Y

    N

    N

    12918

    Halswell

    75 Halswell Road

    77 Halswell Rd

    Stop to move about 20m west (toward Halswell) to improve the safety of vehicles turning out of Tankerville Road.

    Y

    Y*

    Y

    12630

    City

    64 Halswell Road

    64 Halswell Rd

    No change to the bus location.

    Shelter to move forward slightly.

    Y

    Y*

    Y

    *1m wide standard Christchurch City Council bus shelter
    **1m wide double length standard Christchurch City Council bus shelter
    *** provision for a bus shelter through a future project

    All bus stops will have a seat, all city bound stops and some Halswell bound stops will have shelters, and some will have Real Time Information (providing accurate information about bus arrival times).

    Shelters will have automatic solar powered lighting triggered when someone is using the shelter, making it safer and more pleasant for people travelling early or later in the day, especially during winter.

    Illustration of the proposed bus shelters (single length)

    Close
  • On-street parking

    Outside of operating hours, bus lanes between Augustine Drive/Monsaraz Boulevard and Curletts Road can be used for on-street parking.

    Close
  • Paths
    • A 3m wide shared path on both sides of Halswell Road, between Dunbars Road and Augustine Drive/Monsaraz Boulevard for people walking, scooting or cycling
    • A two-way cycle path on the northern side of Halswell Road, between Augustine Drive and Curletts Road  in addition to the existing footpath (this will give the choice of cycling off the road as well as on the bus lanes).
    Close
  • Intersections, raised safety platform and raised pedestrian crossing
    • New intersections at Rowley Avenue and Warren Crescent (west) with traffic lights and pedestrian crossings improving safety for people walking, scooting and cycling.
    • A new four-legged intersection at Aidanfield Drive with traffic lights, pedestrian crossings and a raised safety platform.

    Raised safety platforms:

      • help to make pedestrians more visible to drivers (which is particularly helpful where there are older or younger pedestrians or pedestrians with mobility issues) and aim to slow drivers down as they approach and leave an intersection making it safer for people crossing the road
      • are designed so that vehicle speeds are slow enough that there is enough time for people to react to avoid a crash and to reduce potential injuries if a crash happens
      • the ramp grades on raised safety platforms are designed to achieve lower speeds while minimising driver and passenger discomfort
      • can reduce deaths and serious injuries by up to 40%.

    We know that 55% of crashes in Christchurch happen at intersections.

    The Aidanfield intersection will form part of wider future commercial development to be constructed on the south side of Halswell Road.  Already within the wider Aidanfield area there are schools, a retirement village, sports facility and a disability health services facility. Together with development likely to occur further down Halswell Road, there will be an increase in people travelling to and through this area, and crossing at the intersection. The raised safety platform will make it safer for everyone at this intersection whether walking, scooting, cycling or driving.

    • A new raised pedestrian crossing with traffic lights to the east of Tankerville Road, close to bus stops, will be installed to make it safer for students and staff at Hillmorton High School and residents to cross Halswell Road. Like the raised safety platforms, raised crossings make pedestrians more visible to drivers, and slow drivers down as they approach the crossing making it safer for people crossing the road whether they’re walking, cycling or scooting.
    Close
  • Raised median and u-turn locations

    A 1m wide raised median along Halswell Road (between Dunbars Road and Curletts Road) will improve safety by removing right-turns which will reduce the risk of crashes when drivers exit driveways and side streets.

    There will be specific u-turn locations at these intersections with new traffic lights which will include a specific light for u-turns:

      • Rowley Avenue (to turn around to head toward the city)
      • Warren Crescent (west) (to turn around to head toward Halswell)

    There will also be dedicated u-turn bays:

      • prior to the Halswell Road/Curletts Road/Hoon Hay Road intersection (to turn around to head toward Halswell)
      • prior to the Halswell Road/Monsaraz Boulevard/Augustine Drive intersection (to turn around to head toward the city).

    Halswell Timber will have a dedicated right turn bay.

    Close
  • Trees

     

    We have worked to keep as many trees as possible while providing the necessary infrastructure and features.

    The addition of the two-way cycle path on the northern side of Halswell Road between Augustine Drive and Curletts Road, and a better understanding of the utility services we will need to install under the road have meant the removal of more trees than we originally thought.

    The majority of trees to be removed are located between Hendersons Road and Curletts Road.

    We will replace each removed tree with two new trees which will be planted in locations along the project area (more than we said before).

    At the moment, about 58 trees need to be removed – 9 of which can be transplanted within the project area. There are another 9 trees that might need to be removed – 1 of which can be transplanted within the project area.  We will understand more when construction gets underway.

    When planting the new trees we consider safety, (such as being too close to driveways, poles, bus stops and intersections), shading and leaf-fall near drains.

    In selecting the replacement trees we have considered how well they’ll survive in an urban environment, ground conditions, and the existing trees and environment.

    Selected species are:

    • Upright Tulip (Liriodendron tulipifera ‘Fastigata’)
    • Pin Oak (Quercus palustris)
    • Native trees including totara (Podocarpus totara), kōwhai (Sophora microphylla) and tī kōuka/ cabbage tree (Cordyline australis)
    • Pukio/ swamp sedge (Carex virgata).
    Close
  • Street lighting

    Street lighting will be upgraded to energy-efficient LED lighting. LED lighting improves illumination, enhancing the safety for everyone using Halswell Road, between Dunbars Road and Curletts Road. 

    Close

Timeline

Tenders for the construction work close toward the end of the year (2023).

We expect to appoint a contractor in early 2024 and for construction to start soon after that.

We won’t know the construction schedule until the contractor is appointed and will update this page when we have more information.

NZ Upgrade Programme

This project is part of the NZ Upgrade Programme, the Government's $8.7 billion investment in growing communities across the country.

Communities can look forward to transport improvements that provide more travel choices, help people get where they’re going safely and grow our economy, while responding to the impacts of travel on the environment.

NZ Upgrade Programme

SH75 Halswell Road improvements NZ Upgrade Programme logo

Complementary Christchurch City Council projects

Waka Kotahi is working closely with Christchurch City Council which has allocated budget for public transport improvements along Lincoln Road. The first phase of the improvements is along Lincoln Road, from Moorhouse Avenue through the Addington Village to Whiteleigh Avenue. The Council is also proposing a second phase of improvements along Lincoln Road from Wrights Road to Curletts Road.

Lincoln Road improvements(external link)