@The Political Busker #71

Ah, your highly melodramatic response makes things clear - she was crossing unlawfully. Not being on a designated crossing means that the onus is on her for her own safety. From the NZTA website "Cross the road only when it is safe to do so" - clearly it wasn't.

Yes Nik #66 - approximately 55 metres away form the Victoria Street crossing and 60 metres from the Willis Street crossing. Almost exactly where the non signalled pedestrian crossing should go if council are not seen to be encouraging jay walking. Sorry I did not use a tape measure I strode it out on the road off the blood stains still on the carriageway.

@Chris M

You make a good point. Unfortunately we can't combine the comments. "Woman hit by bus in Manners St" is the first version of the story written on the day of the accident and the "Sixth pedestrian hit by bus in Manners St" is the follow-up that was written a day later.

Also, you're on the Dominion Post website, not Stuff. We are part of the same network but they are two different sites.

Dear Stuff, There appear to be two news items about the same collision, both commented. These are: Woman hit by bus in Manners St. and Sixth pedestrian hit by bus in Manners St. Suggestion: Combine the two including the comments. I agree this news item has created a lot of interest, but at present there are two parallel discussions taking place.

@ Nik #66, Ok Nik, I'll be a bit more precise in my meaning, They think they are in the right because the little man is green. They feel a sense of entitlement, man is green , I am entitled to cross. I am not talking of uncontrolled crossings (though people also seem to think they can step out onto those without looking too) I am not talking about myself here, I rarely use crossings.

I can't believe this! So this woman was innocently walking along the footpath, listening to her ipod, txting on her iphone, and reading an ibook on her ipad, and this bus just JUMPS straight onto the footpath and runs her down?

Oh... she was crossing the road? And this bus just RUNS straight through a red light and hits her? Oh.... it wasn't a red light? Was it a crossing? No? Oh.... Um.

Are we sure she isn't just a stupid? I'm beginning to have difficulty blaming the council any more. Maybe I don't have as much spare time as TCIO and BE.

@The Political Busker #51

So she WAS crossing the road unlawfully IF she was within 20m of a designated crossing - and your tape measurse said how far...? (And is there a big apology and mea culpa if it was 20m or less?)

@GCR #58 "@Rex #54, Except Wellington's worst pedestrian accident spots are mostly crossings. I believe crossing at Courtenay Place/Manners St/Taranaki St is the worst. People seem to think , I have the right of way, I'll walk without looking if way is actually safe, brain in neutral. They are in the right, but still brokenn."

They are NOT in the right - from the NZTA website "Don't step out suddenly onto a pedestrian crossing if any vehicles are so close to the crossing that they cannot stop." - is that clear enough for you? What ever happened to waiting at the crossing until you know FOR SURE vehicles are stopping?

RFK #53 you say elderly. It would be more helpful if you could be specific here. How many days had that elderly person not been hit by a bus?

I feel it is wrong to blame the WCC for these collisions. Councils can do daft things such as making some road humps look like they might be pedestrian crossings when legally they are not. However, Manners Street is clearly not in this category. It is a well defined two way road and those who jaywalk do so at their peril. Whether the mall should have been removed is quite another question. The main argument against doing so as far as I was concerned as a ratepayer was the cost. However, all this is now history. Hopefully the publicity about these collisions will encourage people to take more care when crossing roads.

FC_Shaze#39 the 2008 report on page 16 that warned the council about the negative effects of opening a pedestrian mall to traffic let alone buses. http://www.wellington.govt.nz/projects/new/goldenmile/pdfs/retailassessment.pdf