Wānaka’s first set of traffic lights will be constructed on Ballantyne Road near the Wānaka Golf Club to provide a safe pedestrian/cycle crossing point.

Wānaka Community Board (WCB) members were formally advised at the WCB meeting last Thursday (May 12) that the long awaited crossing is currently in the design phase with construction anticipated to start in August this year.

The Wānaka Golf Club, on Ballantyne Road, has been lobbying the Queenstown Lakes District Council (QLDC) for years to create a safe crossing point for its 1,000 members and the increasing number of pedestrians and cyclists who use the roadside gravel path beside the golf course.

The 18-hole golf course is divided by Ballantyne Road which has grown increasingly busy with traffic since the Ballantyne Road entrance to Three Parks was opened.

The golf club’s current crossing point is considered increasingly dangerous, especially since the Ballantyne Road entrance to Three Parks opened. 

Last year QLDC staff advised the club a signalised crossing point near the club’s entrance was being considered but then postponed the decision to focus on the Ballantyne Road/Golf Course Road intersection, where safe crossing points could be created with the proposed roundabout.

When it was discovered the roundabout project could potentially take another 18 months (the intention is to have the roundabout finished in 2023), council decided to ‘expedite’ the crossing by removing it from the intersection project and adding it to the Schools to Pool (S2P) active transport project already underway, QLDC media spokesperson Sam White said.

“We are delighted that finally a safe crossing on Ballantyne Road will be constructed for the community and obviously solve the safety issue for the golfers,” Wānaka Golf Club chair David Smallbone said.

“At this stage we have not been involved in the specific design however from the information I have the proposal appears very satisfactory,” he said.

The exact location and design of the crossing are yet to be finalised, but the intention is for pedestrians to cross Ballantyne Road at a point between the Golf Club’s entrance and the intersection with Golf Course Road.

In addition to catering to golfers it will also provide a safe crossing point from town to Three Parks, the Recreation Centre, swimming pool and primary school, Sam said.

The crossing signals, similar to those employed in Frankton near the public bus terminus, are expected to be operational before the end of the year.

The cost of this crossing will be covered by the S2P budget. 

Meanwhile, the design of stage one of the S2P (Aubrey Road and Kelly’s Flat) is complete and work is expected to be finished by the end of October. 

The design phase of stage two (Kelly's Flat to Plantation Rd) is progressing alongside delivery of stormwater construction, but design has not begun yet on stage three (Lismore Park to Hedditch Street), stage four (crossing SH 84) or stage five (Ballantyne Road to Three Parks entrance).

PHOTOS: Wānaka App