This morning there are news media reports of a crash involving two cars at a pedestrian island in Beach Haven Road, Auckland. The reports appear to place the scene of the crash near 164 Beach Haven Road. Beach Haven Road appears to be a local arterial route serving the suburbs of Beachhaven, Birkdale and Kauri Park which has many pedestrian islands and roundabouts. These islands help people cross what must be a busy road carrying a lot of traffic.

The issue for this road like any other busy arterial carrying a lot of traffic is whether these islands are well placed and whether the road is well designed in terms of traffic safety in general. As can be seen the road narrows quite suddenly around the island with sparse no stopping lines very close to it. Motorists travelling on this road would encounter a series of these islands where the road suddenly narrows around the island. News reports suggest “four or five” accidents in the past five years at this traffic island.

The key question for road safety around these islands is whether they make it straightforward for road users with the sudden change in the width of the road especially with markings at night. Beach Haven Road is only lit on one side of the road and the lights are not close together, so there is a question of visibility at night perhaps more than daytime.