Extra day's stay to prolong traffic woes

By John Andrews

Auckland motorists who thought they could put Apec traffic woes behind them on September 13 should think again. More than half the summit delegates are staying an extra night.

Apec organisers, conscious of the disruption the gathering will cause, are asking Aucklanders for "a little more patience."

They say that at least 13 of the 21 foreign leaders will remain in town overnight after the summit winds up on Monday.

Several leaders, including United States President Bill Clinton, will stay on for official visits.

Five national leaders will travel in motorcades to Auckland Airport on the morning of September 14, three in the afternoon and one in the evening. One leader will fly out the following day.

That means more street and Southern Motorway lane closures. Signs at motorway on-ramps warning of disruption from September 9 to 13 will be changed shortly to encompass the extra days.

Most motorcades are likely to use the motorway to Gillies Ave but some motorcades will travel to Manukau City.

"We always believed that a few [leaders] would go out on Tuesday," said police special operations manager Robyn Orchard. "But with the majority now going on Tuesday, it makes that day have more significant impact."

She said police would try to minimise disruption to Aucklanders by "green-lighting" the motorcades through traffic lights, but the decision to travel down the Southern Motorway would cause delays for motorists.

An Apec Taskforce spokesman, Peter Parussini, said police officers would introduce 20-minute "rolling blocks" on southbound lanes to allow Apec motorcades to pass. In the intervening periods, motorists would be allowed to proceed.

"There will be some disruption on Tuesday."

The chief executive of the Auckland Chamber of Commerce, Michael Barnett, believes the main police message should be: "We want to keep Auckland operating."

"The average person looking at the signs they have put up on the motorway are assuming the worst and that is probably what the police expected," he said.

"I would have hoped that the police may have come out and said this is not like a truck turning over; this is planned.

"Some effort should be made to keep Auckland as operable as possible."