A growing “national obsession” around road cones was an “unhealthy distraction” from the need to keep workers and road users safe on and around road work sites.
That’s according to Civil Contractors NZ chief executive Alan Pollard who says good temporary traffic management was necessary to protect workers and road users.
His comments follow recent government measures aimed to save costs around temporary traffic management (TTM) and curb the overuse of road cones.
Auckland Mayor Wayne Brown has also pledged to tackle the amount of road cones and road closures around the city and he has the backing of the trucking industry.
But Pollard says suggesting traffic management is deployed to maximise profit is “nonsense”.
“It’s hugely important to protect the people we ask to work in high-risk locations, such as 100km/h road corridors or utility trenches around utilities such as water pipes, energy cables and high-pressure gas lines – not to mention road users around these sites.”
He says contractors and clients could not avoid obligations under the Health and Safety at Work Act 2015, and the conclusions from the Ernst & Young report cited by Mayor Wayne Brown were “absurd” and “an affront to everyone working in high-risk environments”.
Brown commissioned the report which found TTM contractors have little incentive to work cheaper and faster and existing rules and regulations incentivise contractors to cause maximum disruption to maximise profits.
Pollard says traffic management is deployed for one reason – “to keep road users and workers safe during high-risk works”.
He says contractors were an easy target for criticism and a more collaborative approach was needed to reach better outcomes.
There was always room for improvement, and industry has been moving toward risk-based temporary traffic management for some years. However, this would lead to better safety outcomes and appropriate on-site controls, not necessarily lower traffic management costs, he says.
“The way sites are set up is a function of the client requirements and what is needed to meet contractor obligations under health and safety legislation. We will not and cannot compromise people’s safety. It’s something everyone needs to improve on.”
Road cones were just one tool to manage safety. Full or partial road closures could provide a safe and efficient fix in some situations, such as overnight maintenance and the industry was exploring ways to better manage risk on and around work sites, Pollard says.
“In terms of potholes, the real issue is the amount of roads past their design life. If the road surface is degrading, patching potholes isn’t going to provide a lasting solution. Roads need to be resurfaced not patched, or if the pavement is degrading, they need to be renewed,” he adds.
