Road cone hotline: Traffic management expert doubtful new scheme will work
Tilton said this could lead to motorists having less respect for roadworks sites and their workers, posing safety risks.
This in turn could lead to more traffic management equipment being deployed to counteract the disrespect.
'[That's] the exact opposite of what is intended', Tilton said.
In the first six weeks of operation, almost 900 reports were lodged to the hotline – with most of them deemed valid. These reports are passed on to the road controlling authority (RCA) responsible (such as Auckland Transport) to follow up.
For example, Auckland Transport said its staff would often go to the site of concern or check CCTV footage to see what can be done.
Minister for Workplace Relations Brooke van Velden's road cone hotline has received 236 reports of excessive cones in its first four days, with the most coming from Auckland. Photo / NZME
Worksafe said 155 inspectors have completed special training to be able to spot cone over-compliance and in some cases, they will visit sites with the local RCA.
Workplace Relations and Safety Minister Brooke van Velden said while abuse to road workers was never acceptable, more proportionate road cone use could actually help indicate there was a genuine risk at sites.
Van Velden said during recent travels across the country someone raised the issue of a 'sea of road cones' at nearly every meeting.
Parallaxx founder and chief executive Dave Tilton.
This week, van Velden said there had been instances of cone over-compliance identified and addressed because of reports through the hotline.
'For example, in Albany, a worksite found 30 excess road cones after a report to the tipline, which were removed to make the site less disruptive.'
Documents released under the Official Information Act reveal officials discouraged the minister from having inspectors complete site inspections alone because they have no power to enforce change immediately.
'There will be no ability for our inspectors to affect immediate change to the number of road cones present in each situation, because the business is required to operate the site according to the approved [Traffic Management Plan] which will already have been approved by the RCA.
'Additionally, our inspectors will not have access to the approved TMP without requesting a copy from the RCA.'
Officials discouraged the Government from allowing anonymous reports of excessive road cone use at roadworks sites over fears it would lead to a flood of pranks and bogus reports. Officials cited a failed attempt in the UK to install a similar system where out of 17,000 calls for service, only five resulted in any cones being removed.
'A range of prank calls were received when the UK introduced a 'cone hotline' in 1992 and we aim to minimise this by asking for contact details,' officials said.
Although the hotline is nationwide, officials warned the minister that local councils would not have capacity or the funding for follow-up reports swiftly as larger councils like Auckland, Christchurch and Wellington did.
Officials said they had been advised by Auckland Transport that they had seen an increase in abuse of road workers especially following public announcements and commentary about road cones.
'It would need clear messaging that the road workers are not responsible for road cones.'
Julia Gabel is a Wellington-based political reporter. She joined the Herald in 2020 and has most recently focused on data journalism.
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NZ Herald
4 days ago
- NZ Herald
Road cone hotline: Traffic management expert doubtful new scheme will work
'The main negative point that makes me the most uncomfortable about it is ... you think about a driver who is now somewhat empowered by the idea they can report overzealous road cones. Then [they are] looking at roadworks as ... what do I not like? What does not reach the threshold that will deserve my respect?' Tilton said this could lead to motorists having less respect for roadworks sites and their workers, posing safety risks. This in turn could lead to more traffic management equipment being deployed to counteract the disrespect. '[That's] the exact opposite of what is intended', Tilton said. In the first six weeks of operation, almost 900 reports were lodged to the hotline – with most of them deemed valid. These reports are passed on to the road controlling authority (RCA) responsible (such as Auckland Transport) to follow up. For example, Auckland Transport said its staff would often go to the site of concern or check CCTV footage to see what can be done. Minister for Workplace Relations Brooke van Velden's road cone hotline has received 236 reports of excessive cones in its first four days, with the most coming from Auckland. Photo / NZME Worksafe said 155 inspectors have completed special training to be able to spot cone over-compliance and in some cases, they will visit sites with the local RCA. Workplace Relations and Safety Minister Brooke van Velden said while abuse to road workers was never acceptable, more proportionate road cone use could actually help indicate there was a genuine risk at sites. Van Velden said during recent travels across the country someone raised the issue of a 'sea of road cones' at nearly every meeting. Parallaxx founder and chief executive Dave Tilton. This week, van Velden said there had been instances of cone over-compliance identified and addressed because of reports through the hotline. 'For example, in Albany, a worksite found 30 excess road cones after a report to the tipline, which were removed to make the site less disruptive.' Documents released under the Official Information Act reveal officials discouraged the minister from having inspectors complete site inspections alone because they have no power to enforce change immediately. 'There will be no ability for our inspectors to affect immediate change to the number of road cones present in each situation, because the business is required to operate the site according to the approved [Traffic Management Plan] which will already have been approved by the RCA. 'Additionally, our inspectors will not have access to the approved TMP without requesting a copy from the RCA.' Officials discouraged the Government from allowing anonymous reports of excessive road cone use at roadworks sites over fears it would lead to a flood of pranks and bogus reports. Officials cited a failed attempt in the UK to install a similar system where out of 17,000 calls for service, only five resulted in any cones being removed. 'A range of prank calls were received when the UK introduced a 'cone hotline' in 1992 and we aim to minimise this by asking for contact details,' officials said. Although the hotline is nationwide, officials warned the minister that local councils would not have capacity or the funding for follow-up reports swiftly as larger councils like Auckland, Christchurch and Wellington did. Officials said they had been advised by Auckland Transport that they had seen an increase in abuse of road workers especially following public announcements and commentary about road cones. 'It would need clear messaging that the road workers are not responsible for road cones.' Julia Gabel is a Wellington-based political reporter. She joined the Herald in 2020 and has most recently focused on data journalism.
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14-07-2025
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Auckland Transport collects almost $19 million since parking fines hiked
Auckland Transport's collected almost $19 million in fines since October 2024. Photo: RNZ / Nick Monro Auckland Transport's (AT) collected almost $19 million in fines since parking penalties went up 70 percent in October last year. That's the same amount in nine months as it collected in the whole of 2024 and double what was collected the year before that. Head of Transport and Parking Compliance Rick Bidgood told Morning Report said people were "getting the message" when it came to parking fines. "Look I think they are really getting a message now when it comes to fines generically across the range, but certainly that $750 mobility infringement is quite significant." But Bidgood said there was still some people making "not great choices" despite the infringement costs, which he said were not set by Auckland Transport. "These levels are set at a national level so its nothing that Auckland Transport has any input into... We haven't had a significant fee increase for many many years so I guess they just moving things up to make it as adherent as it needs to be so people make a positive choice rather than a negative choice." There were about 140 infringements issued across Auckland per hour, which Bidgood said was relatively low in comparison to the population. He also said staff on the street were just as important as the parking cameras. "I really need the guys and girls on the street because we got about 4000 requests for service every single month where people are having issues that we attend to." Examples of issues included vehicles blocking driveways, breaking downs and abandon vehicles, he said. Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero , a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
Scoop
07-07-2025
- Scoop
How Effective Has The Road Cone Hotline Been?
More than 650 reports have been made to the road cone hotline within its first month, but how effective has it been on the streets of Auckland? It is lunchtime in central Auckland, and the Wellesley Street Upgrade project is well underway. One day it will be a connection to the City Rail Link - but right now there is construction noise and a bright orange line of road cones. "We work around here, so it's been like this forever. Just used to it now, but looking forward for them to go away," a woman who was heading out for lunch told First Up. Minister for Workplace Relations and Safety Brooke Van Velden announced significant shifts to rebalance WorkSafe's focus last month, kicking off with a road cone hotline. On the streets of Auckland, attitudes towards the hotline - which is actually an online form - were mixed. Some welcomed it. "I've been tempted (to report)," said one person. "I think there are way too many of them (road cones), I think they are overused." Some opposed it. "There's an excessive focus on road cones. They are a sign of progress, I love progress so I have no problem with excessive road cones." Some were not sure whether that was the solution to their problems. "Auckland has a lot of road works, but I don't know if I would call a hotline." Since launching in June, the hotline received nearly 400 valid reports in week one, 126 in week two, 71 in week three and 70 in week four. Road controlling authorities say The digital hotline collects complaints and sends reports to road controlling authorities. Among all road controlling authorities, Auckland Transport received the most complaints, with nearly 200 reported. Auckland Transport group manager for road corridor access Tracey Berkahn said she was not surprised. "I think that's fairly expected because we're the largest city, we've got the most people and we've also got quite a lot of development going on. So there are a lot of work sites." Berkahn said investigating all of the complaints had created quite a bit of extra work for her team of six, but it had led to improvements. "We had one particular case in Albany where it was in a business area where there was a piece of electrical maintenance work being done. We had diggers and generators and tools on site. But when we went out, we realised that the site probably had about 30 too many cones. The work site was larger than the plan what's submitted to us for approval, and we talked to the site supervisor and they removed about 30 cones to make that site smaller, to be less disruptive on the businesses and the motorists in the area." Berkahn said on an average day, there were 2000 active sites in Auckland. Among the 200 sites investigated from the hotline reports, 30-40 percent of them had either too many or too few cones. "Quite often when we go out (to investigate), we find where the customer thinks there are too many cones, it might be that there's been a lane created for pedestrians. And if you're driving past in a car, all you can see are orange cones. But if you're walking down that lane as a pedestrian, you're much safer because you're kept away from the machinery on the work site and the cars on the road are kept away from you." Berkahn said Auckland Transport had an existing cone reporting system, but the hotline generated greater public awareness. "The one thing that I would like listeners to understand is that it's been really positive having this relationship with WorkSafe and being able to contact customers about their queries and explain sometimes why those sites are necessary and how they're providing safety." Wellington City Council received 57 complaints in the first week but after a month that had dropped to just 8. The council declined to be interviewed but in a statement said they believed complaints had fallen because the novelty of the hotline is wearing off, and that no cones has been removed due to a hotline report. Meanwhile, Christchurch City Council has received 40 complaints. In a statement, transport operations manager Stephen Wright sid while they found most of the sites were compliant, any issue that needed to be addressed by the contractor were discussed from an education approach in the first instance, but it was up to the contractor to decide whether the cones were needed or not. NZTA, who received the 140 complaints, did not respond to First Up's request for comment. Word on the streets Back on the streets, Temporary Traffic Management workers were split on whether the road cones themselves - and the hotline - worked. "I think there's too many of them and it's a great idea there is an 0800 number," a worker with four years' experience in site management told First Up. "I think that (the hotline) is an overkill. There isn't a problem unless it's blocking a car park or it's limiting businesses to customers. Now I think the problem is people like myself are kind of bending those rules - more cones have been putting out than what's needed and some don't pick up their gear after they've finished their site. But then the other flip side to that coin is gear getting stolen, so therefore what was safe before was not safe anymore because there weren't enough cones. "If it weren't for people like me, people would be driving into trenches and driving into holes," a TTM manager with more than 10 years of experience told First Up. RNZ asked another worker how he would feel if I took half of the cones away from his site. It was a definite "no" from him. He said sometimes when pedestrians saw a gap between the cones they would try to cross the road, and the closely lined up cones kept pedestrians safe and made sure they followed the rules. WorkSafe said the road cone hotline will be reviewed at the end of the year.
