Ask Phoebe: Bus bay in Birkenhead removed for safety reasons by contractors

Heavy traffic on the Auckland Harbour Bridge. Photo / Jason Oxenham

On the city-bound side of Mokoia Rd in Birkenhead, between Porritt Avenue and Chelsea View Drive, there is a bus stop that used to have a bus bay.

It wasn't large enough to get the bus totally off the road but was certainly enough for two lanes of cars to still squeeze by while the bus was collecting passengers.

There have been on-going roadworks along Mokoia Rd over the past months, replacing footpaths, digging-up and resealing the road.

When the citybound side footpath between Porritt Avenue and Chelsea View Drive was replaced the bus bay was removed, although the bus stop and shelter are still there and in use.

The removal of the bus bay effectively halts one lane of city- or Glenfield- and Albany-bound traffic while the bus collects its passengers before it has to force its way into the right-hand Highbury-bound lane of traffic.

Has the removal of the bus bay been a mistake by the contractors, or is it another attempt by Auckland Council/AT to get people on to public transport?

Jim Leary, Birkenhead.

It's a deliberate move, says a spokesman for Auckland Transport.

The old indent for buses was too small for safe operation and there's no space to enlarge it.

It was so short that there was a conflict of risk between the front corner of a bus turning in, and people waiting at the stop or walking past it.

Buses couldn't get parallel to the kerb thus leaving a gap between the kerb and the rear door, and often the rear corner of the bus was left sticking out at an angle into the left-hand lane which was unsafe.

From the bus indent to the right turn at the lights, buses had to cross lane one to reach lane two to turn right. Now they can move forward in lane one directly and have to move only from lane one to lane two in order to turn right.

Buses trying to re-join from the indent were always delayed by passing traffic, especially at peak times when cars queuing at the lights left no space for buses to emerge.

With reference to the Te Atatu corridor improvements, this project is scheduled to be completed in April 2017. As part of this, on November 11, the northbound lanes on Te Atatu Rd going to the motorway were reduced from two lanes to one. How long is this lane restriction intended to be in place?

Andrew Kellett, Te Atatu.

Approximately 15 months.

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