Banks defends controversial review of bus lanes

Photo / Glenn Jeffrey

Auckland City Mayor John Banks is defending a council review of Dominion Rd's pioneering bus lanes after becoming frustrated with congestion on a route closer to his Remuera home.

The council's transport committee has sparked controversy by deciding to begin public consultations today on a proposal to open the lanes to any vehicles carrying one or more passengers.

It is also proposing separate lanes for cyclists, who now share the bus lanes, and the removal of on-street parking in a $50 million-plus upgrade of Dominion Rd which will include widening much of a 4.5km stretch between Eden Quarter and Mt Roskill.

But the prospect of watering down the city's most established bus lanes has unsettled the Campaign for Better Transport and the Auckland Regional Transport Authority, which has just branded Dominion Rd and Mt Eden Rd high-frequency "b.line" bus routes modelled on a successful rapid transit scheme in Vancouver.

Auckland Regional Council's transport and urban linkage committee has also resolved to oppose the move on the basis that it would delay buses and make correct use of the lanes, which have been in place since 1999, harder to enforce.

Tackled on the issue while addressing a meeting of the Campaign for Better Transport last week, Mr Banks raised his concern at the operation of newer bus lanes in Remuera Rd, where his council has been under pressure from residents to re-open them to general traffic.

"I am highly critical of the congestion in traffic, contributing to $1 billion [a year] in wasted time and fuel, in the car lane in Remuera Rd where one woman takes a child from round the corner in a Remuera Tractor to King's School, then wants to turn right back into Portland Rd," he told the campaigners.

"I'm waiting there, I'm not exaggerating, for seven to nine minutes.

"That's ludicrous when in that time on the inside of me, not one bus passes."

The relevance of his observation was challenged by city councillor and campaign member Graeme Easte, who said Dominion Rd was the city's busiest bus route and there could be no comparison with Remuera Rd.

He said converting the bus lanes into T2 lanes, meaning for vehicles with two or more occupants, would see buses "tripping over private cars".

Mr Banks said T2 and T3 lanes were already in place in North Shore City and the new Auckland Transport agency would have to make an assessment for the entire region.

According to regional transport authority figures, 53 scheduled buses use Dominion Rd's citybound bus lanes between 7am and 9am each week day, compared with 28 which run between the Remuera shops and Newmarket in that period.

The consultation period on the council's upgrade plans for Dominion Rd, including its proposal for T2 lanes, will run for two weeks, from Monday until August 1.

* To make a submission visit www.aucklandcity.govt.nz/dominionroad to complete an online response form, or phone the council at 3792020 to request a hard copy.