Headline: Kiwi firefighters raise alarm on speed humps installed by Auckland Transport slowing crews
Authored by: Tom Dillane
Published on:11 March 2024
Published by: NZ Herald, NZME Publishing Limited
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Archived Link:
(Note: full article is behind a paywall)
Summary of key information in the article:
- An earlier version of the article ran the headline “Firefighters speak out, Fenz report uncovered into Auckland Transport traffic calming measures, Chlöe Swarbrick concerned about communication” .
- The NZ Herald has obtained a report about how emergency response times are impacted by “traffic calming measures” and notes a recommendation in that report that Fire and Emergency New Zealand (FENZ) adapt to the changes by adjusting equipment. The report also claims “…there is just not much evidence one way or another on how emergency response is impacted by traffic calming in real-world conditions.”
- Injuries sustained by a firefighters hitting the vehicle ceiling while going over a “traffic calming” features is mentioned.
- Firefighters and NZ Professional Firefighters’ Union representatives have expressed concern
- Auckland Transport claims that they have modified raised platforms and speed tables after discussions with FENZ leadership, and blames “traffic congestion” for causing issues with delays.
- The Fire and Emergency New Zealand (FENZ) Annual report 2023 also mentions “traffic calming measures” as a factor in fire crews not reaching their 2022-23 targets of getting to 80% of structural fires within 8-minutes.
- Green MP for Auckland Central Chlöe Swarbrick was reported to focus on Auckland Transport’s “public communication” when asked about the situation.
“Ultimately, dealing with the changing face of Auckland’s (and New Zealand’s) roading infrastructure will require both short- and long-term strategies by FENZ and the roading authorities. In the short-term, how existing appliances interact with changes to the roading network needs to be worked out. There could be changes to appliance maintenance or how appliances are used. There could also be temporary modifications to the roading strategy to accommodate the legacy FENZ fleet. In the long-term, FENZ will likely need to adjust the types of equipment that is procured to ensure that it is more manoeuvrable and adaptable to the changes to New Zealand’s cities and roads.” Page V of the Executive Summary for “Traffic calming and effective response speeds- Final Report”
Headline: Speed bump frustration for Auckland firefighters
Published on:11 March 2024
Published by: Radio New Zealand (RNZ)
Link:
Archived Link:
Summary of key information in the article:
- There is 5 minutes of audio featuring an interview with Auckland Local President of the NZ Professional Firefighters’ Union explaining some of the issues with speed humps and “traffic calming measures”, noted that the raised bumps are now on major arterial routes.
- “Traffic calming measures” are causing damage to fire engines and increasing response times.
- Auckland Transport’s statement is summarised, though few of their responses directly address the central concerns with “traffic calming”.
