No Labels NZ - 22 September

In August of 2025, Wellington City Council was contacted by residents of St. John of God in Karori, concerned that the existing pedestrian facilities outside of Massey's Road were not meeting the needs of those living at St. John of God.

This prompted an on-site visit and inspection to understand how the existing facilities compared to current standards from both Wellington City Council and the New Zealand Transport Agency, Waka Kotahi.

The prominent finding from this inspection showed that the existing drop curb opposite St. John of God no longer met current standards, resulting in difficulty for those from St. John of God to adequately use.

To help resolve this issue, we designed a new drop curb design to bring it up to current standard, increase, and increase usability for the community, and particularly those from St. John of God.

Due to the bank located directly behind the footpath opposite St. John of God, we were unable to provide an adequate ramp gradient or landing zones at the top of the ramp using a traditional drop curb design, which would utilize the space behind the back of the footpath.

As a result, the design of the new drop curb utilized the addition of a curb build-out.

As this extended the footpath into the carriageway, we were able to attain a ramp gradient which was gentler than previously in place and an adequately sized landing zone at the top of the ramp.

Curb build-outs also have the sh- the effect of shortening the crossing distance from curb to curb, reducing the time pedestrians are within the live lanes.

During the design process, we also accounted for lane width along Massey's Road to ensure that adequate lane width was retained for vehicles and that the curb build-out would not adversely affect stormwater drainage.

In addition to this change, the channel at this occas- location and the drop curb directly located outside of St. John of God was changed to a disk channel rather than a standard channel, as these allow for a smoother transition from footpath to road and back for wheelchair users.

Our attention was also brought to the limited footpath width near the corner of Masseys Road and Braithwaite Street, as the distance between the back of the footpath and a utility pole was less than desired, making it difficult for wheelchair users to safely negotiate.

To resolve this issue, we extended the back of the footpath, creating a wider footpath.

Further along Braithwaite Street, the existing pedestrian island was also upgraded to current standards by slightly widening the footprint of the median island, creating more protection for people as they wait for vehicles to pass.

The channels at this location on both the north and south side have been changed to disk channels, allowing for a smoother transition for wheelchair users.

The reason for these changes on Braithwaite Street is that those at St. John of God communicated that this was the main crossing point of Braithwaite Street, which they used to gain access to Marsden Village.