Early birds to beat gridlock

By Chris Daniels

Crack-of-dawn commuting took the sting out of predicted Apec traffic congestion yesterday, but a repeat performance will be needed today to avoid gridlock.

US President Bill Clinton and his entourage of Secret Service agents, advisers, staffers and family will leave Auckland in peak-time this morning, shutting down the southbound lanes of the Southern Motorway for at least an hour.

The warning to avoid coming into the inner city today has come late, with organisers realising only in the past two weeks that world leaders would stay an extra night.

Many of the larger inner-city corporate offices were operating on skeleton staff yesterday, heeding the call to stay away from the city.

Police reported commuters travelling earlier than normal - before 7 am - and traffic volumes were lower in the usual peak-time.

But traffic levels will need to drop by half today if Auckland is to avoid paralysis.

It was originally expected that the southbound lanes of the Southern Motorway would have to be closed late last night to allow leaders to head for the airport.

However, Mr Clinton and other leaders decided to spend an extra night in the city and travel out in the worst possible time - peak-time on a weekday morning.

He is expected to leave the Stamford Plaza hotel around 7 am.

Road closures in the inner city, including Mayoral Drive, Albert St and Vincent St, ended at midnight last night.

This left the block around the Stamford Plaza as the only part of the city still closed off, but this will be opened once Mr Clinton leaves.

A spokesman for the Stagecoach bus company, Nigel Piper, said holdups were expected today on Great South Rd, with Southern Motorway lanes being hit by closures.