What is going to happen with the orange temporary fencing on West End Rd, opposite Cox's Bay Reserve? It has been there for approximately one year so far. Catherine Wright and John Stevenson, Auckland.
Mark Hannan from Auckland Transport (and I) assume that you mean West End Bridge on West End Rd, where people in vans used to sell vegetables, fruit and flowers. Auckland Transport has commissioned three conceptual designs for a new footbridge. This footbridge will replace the existing one next to the seawall and over the footpath.
In August 2014, you responded to a question regarding the intersection of SH1 and Puhoi Rd. That response indicated that an interim speed limit of 80km/h was in place for the complex driving conditions at the end of the toll road. That situation is still in place but I am concerned at the safety of the Puhoi Rd intersection itself. As your correspondent wrote back then, it seems the safer option would be to shift the 80km/h limit to a location north of the intersection. Why does the Transport Agency allow drivers to increase their speed immediately before a major junction? David Lane, Auckland.
Speed limits are based primarily on the level of roadside development. Studies suggest that drivers determine their speed from adjacent land use, road geometry, and the general road and traffic conditions.
The 80km/h speed limit north of the Johnstones Hill tunnels was set to reduce speed out of the tunnels on the downhill grade for safe merging with the Waiwera interchange northbound traffic. It also helps ensure a safe right turn at the old kiosk entrance for the Waiwera destination U-turn movement. Since the 80km/h zone was introduced in 2011, there has been little roadside development to justify extending it to the Puhoi intersection. Longer term, this section will be bypassed as part of the Transport Agency's plans to extend the motorway to Warkworth. Speed limits on the existing and new highways will be reviewed then.
