KEY POINTS:
A residents' group has collected 2000 signatures supporting its call for the scrapping of new cycle lanes on the road between Devonport and Takapuna.
Traffic queues and trip times have become longer on Lake Rd since the lanes were introduced in November, the group told North Shore City
Council members yesterday.
Cycle lanes had narrowed Lake Rd, forcing cars closer to the centre and increasing danger to cyclists as well as motorists.
The lanes prevented the customary double stacking of cars at key crossroads, particularly the busy intersection of Bardia St and Winscombe Ave, near Belmont Intermediate School and Takapuna Grammar School.
"Lake Rd could barely cope before with its 39,000 vehicles per day but narrowing the road with the implant of cycle lanes has caused a real problem for every-day users, including buses and delivery vehicles," said group member Dr John Reynolds.
He questioned the worth of the $650,000 lanes in the council's drive to provide alternatives to cars.
About 58,000 people travelled by vehicle on Lake Rd daily but group members counted between 30 and 73 cyclists a day using the lanes during the morning rush-hour.
"Of these we estimate 44 were commuter cyclists and if half of them were new cyclists then you could say we have 12 more cyclists in the rush hour."
Group member Andrew Cornwell calculated the impact on Devonport motorists in time and money as equivalent to $4 million a year.
Another member, Rob Lauder, said the council's admission that the cycleway was not intended for use by schoolchildren was evidence of the unsafe nature of lane implementation.
The group seeks removal of cycle lanes and right-hand turns at the intersection of Bardia St and Winscombe Ave. It also calls for the council to get on with widening Lake Rd to cater for all users and to increase traffic flow efficiency on the road.
The council's transport corridor specialist, Kit O'Halloran, said new lanes caused some longer queues in November and December.
In response to complaints, improvements to traffic signals had restored capacity through the schools' intersection.
This was confirmed by a comparison of traffic counts before and after the lanes were installed.
Mr O'Halloran said the number of cyclists had risen from 127 to 200 in the morning peak time and from 65 to 97 in the afternoon peak.
Experience elsewhere showed that the number of cyclists increased over time when new lanes provided safer travel, he said.
In December, the Devonport Community Board supported a plan to improve cycle lanes which would be reviewed at its meeting this month. Part of the plan, to warn people before issuing tickets for parking within cycle lanes, had been carried out.
The council was looking into calls to investigate widening Lake Rd in places that were too narrow to allow cycles and double-lane traffic flows.
Yesterday, the council's infrastructure and environment committee asked for the review to consider off- road cycle lanes instead of having them on roads.
The report is expected in May.