Moorhouse Avenue Traffic Lights

Press, Volume CVI, Issue 31086, 15 June 1966, Page 16

Moorhouse Avenue Traffic Lights

Sir, —While agreeing with the suggestions made by Dr. Gunz in your issue of June 4, I fail to see why it is any worse for traffic in Moorhouse avenue to be held up by a single man on a bicycle than by a single man in a car. Motorists should realise that if all cyclists started bringing their cars to town, driving would be much more frustrating than it is now, and parking still more nearly impossible. On the subject of traffic signals, I wonder whether the traffic department has considered the use of a type in common use in the United States. This is a single column of lights, or several such columns if necessary, suspended by wires over the centre of an intersection. The top and bottom lights show green on one street and red on the other, with the centre one amber all round. Such a system is frequently easier to see and must be a great deal cheaper than the use of multiple sets of lights. Perhaps the money saved could be used to provide effective synchronization. Yours, etc., J. F. McCAHON. June 7, 1966. [The City Engineer (Mr P. G. Scoular) replies: “The suggested signal indications would not conform to New Zealand regulations or prac-

tice and all efforts should be made to retain uniformity throughout the country. It is doubtful if the system would be any cheaper, as the cost of underground cabling would be substantially the same and the normal signal poles would have to be retained to provide pedestrian control.”]