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Auckland Transport (AT) will replace raised yellow strips on the footpath, either side of Leigh Road in Matakana, following a cyclist’s fall that resulted in a broken pelvis and an overnight stay in hospital.
The Tactile Ground Surface Indicators (TGSI) are to alert pedestrians who are blind or vision-impaired to hazards in their line of travel.
But Matakana resident Rebecca Pedersen believes that when they are wet, they can be lethal.
“My main concern is drawing attention to this, so it doesn’t happen to anyone else,” she says.
Pedersen had just ridden her bike across the road and turned towards Point Wells when her back tyre caught on the strips. She fell heavily on her left shoulder and found she couldn’t move.
“People were trying to help, offering to call an ambulance, but I just wanted to be left alone. I think it was the shock.
“My husband Steven was close behind and it’s just lucky he didn’t fall on me or my injuries could have been much worse.”
As it was, Pedersen spent a night in North Shore Hospital, followed by six weeks of rest and pain relief.
“I was very lucky that I didn’t need surgery or a longer stay in hospital. Steven and I had been married just two days earlier and all my family was over from America. The last place I wanted to be was in hospital,” she says.
As a Geneva Health nurse, Pedersen says she knows only too well how debilitating a fall can be, especially for the elderly. She says the tactile strips are a hazard for both cyclists and pedestrians.
An AT spokesperson said it was not aware that the strips in Matakana were causing problems for pedestrians and cyclists, and had not received any complaints. However, it was aware that polyurethane/plastic TGSI had the potential to become slippery for shoes, and wheels from bikes and scooters, especially when wet.
“Therefore, AT is progressively removing them throughout Auckland and replacing them with concrete paver TGSI, as the concrete pavers have appropriate skid resistance that does not deteriorate over time,” the spokesperson said.
“We have added this site to our programme to upgrade the polyurethane to concrete and hope to have the upgrade competed before the end of June.”
The cost of retrofitting concrete pavers TGSI at a crossing point is typically about $6000, although this does vary per location and contractor.
