Bus lanes added in shopping district

Auckland City's patchwork of peak-hour bus lanes has grown to 25.7km with their extension this week to key parts of Newmarket.

Bus-only lanes have been added to the southern end of the bustling shopping centre's main street, Broadway, and to the lower part of Khyber Pass Rd.

Motorists are banned from using the 1.3km of lanes during operating hours, under penalty of a $150 fine, other than for a maximum of 50m if intending to make a left turn.

But although buses are still finding their way impeded by cars parking in the lanes, the city council says its wardens will focus on persuasive techniques for a few days and call in tow trucks only if all else fails.

The lanes have a measure of support from the Newmarket Business Association, after it weighed up the loss of up to 20 car parks on each side of Broadway with improved access to the shopping centre.

"We regard them as a necessary evil," said association general manager Cameron Brewer, noting that Newmarket was well endowed with off-street car parks.

His association would ideally like a traffic bypass of Newmarket but appreciated the area's importance to the city council's proposed central transit corridor for buses between Britomart and the eastern suburbs.

The council has widened Broadway at its intersection with Mortimer Pass, just before the city-bound bus lane finishes outside the Two Double Seven shopping block.

There is no plan to extend the lane through Broadway's main traffic choke point, between Remuera Rd and Khyber Pass Rd, but project manager Arvind Sima said bus patrons could expect minutes off their trips in bypassing queues back from the Mortimer Pass traffic lights.

Council transport chairman Richard Simpson said the new lanes would help buses get through Newmarket faster and more efficiently.

"Auckland City is committed to providing Newmarket with transport options to serve the premier retail hub."

The council is also investigating extending bus lanes up Manukau Rd and has been consulting the community for a similar proposal along Tamaki Drive to Mission Bay.