Government ends road cone hotline as councils told to shift to risk-based traffic management
Six-month pilot points to council approvals as the driver of cone-heavy sites, with NZTA now tying funding to updated guidelines and a full shift required by July 2027.
The Government’s road cone digital hotline pilot will close on 19 December, with ministers saying the six-month trial has delivered what they needed: a clearer view of why some work sites appear over-coned, and where to focus change.
Workplace Relations and Safety Minister Brooke van Velden said site visits during the pilot showed 86% of locations were compliant with the number of cones and other devices specified in council-approved traffic management plans. The issue, she said, is that many councils weren’t required to apply NZTA’s latest risk-based guidance when approving those plans.
“This pilot has done exactly what we needed it to do,” Ms van Velden said. “We now understand what’s really causing the excessive use of road cones, and changing to a risk-based approach is key to resolving these issues.”
NZTA will now require councils to have a plan in place to apply the new risk-based temporary traffic management guidance to local roadworks contracts before government funding is approved. Councils must be fully compliant with the new guidance by 1 July 2027.
“That’s a crucial insight. It tells us where efforts should be focussed,” Ms van Velden said.
The hotline had three objectives: to give the public a channel to raise concerns, to identify root causes, and to clarify WorkSafe’s role. According to the minister, some contractors and councils had been hesitant to take a more risk-based approach, fearing WorkSafe would act against them for being under-compliant. WorkSafe says its inspectors have been trained in the new guidance and will integrate it into normal assessments as part of a wider move to be a consistent, clear and proportionate regulator.
“Beyond the data, WorkSafe has built important working relationships with those responsible for temporary traffic management. That collaborative approach will continue as they work with NZTA to help councils better understand risk-based compliance,” Ms van Velden said.
The release did not include the number of reports received by the hotline or the number of site visits conducted. Lessons from the pilot will be used to improve how WorkSafe receives and responds to feedback from the public and businesses. The hotline will close on 19 December to align with the new NZTA funding requirement coming into effect.
This article was originally written by AI. You can view the original source here.