Hurry-up for peak-time traffic flow

Long-promised measures to improve motorway peak traffic flows for Waitakere and North Shore motorists and bus passengers come into operation this week.

From today, a managed priority lane opens on the city-bound onramp from Te Atatu Peninsula.

On Wednesday, the first ramp signals on the Northern Motorway are switched on at the northbound onramps at Tristram Ave and Upper Harbour Highway.

The Te Atatu priority lane can be used by cars with two or more people, buses, taxis, motorcycles and trucks.

These vehicles can also reach the lane from Te Atatu South, turning right from a new slip lane. This would give priority vehicles faster access to the motorway during peak times, said NZ Transport Agency acting regional director Tommy Parker.

He said the work begun seven months ago to improve the key interchange was finished. In addition to the managed priority lane, it now had two sets of ramp signals, new traffic lights and wider ramps.

Work is continuing on ramp signals at other parts of the Northwestern Motorway - at Lincoln Rd and Royal Rd. They would be commissioned over the next two months, said Mr Parker.

A priority lane is also being installed on the Lincoln Rd city-bound onramp. On the Northern Motorway, in addition to ramp signals on the north-bound onramps at Tristram Ave and Upper Harbour Highway, a bus priority lane will start at Upper Harbour Highway for travelling north from Constellation Bus Station.

Mr Parker said ramp signals and local approaches to the onramps would be monitored by a range of cameras for delays and backups.

In August, the motorway's second group of ramp signals will be switched on at Esmonde Rd (from Akoranga Drive), Esmonde Rd (from Takapuna) and Northcote Rd onramps. In September, ramp signals for south-bound will come progressively into operation.

They will be at Oteha Valley Rd, Greville Rd, Constellation Drive, Tristram Ave, Northcote Rd and Esmonde Rd.

Managed priority lanes for trucks, buses and car pool vehicles will also operate at Greville Rd and Constellation Drive south-bound onramps.

Mr Parker said commissioning of ramp signals would be co-ordinated with the phasing of adjoining traffic signals. He said ramp signals had improved peak-time travel speeds by 15 per cent on the Southern Motorway. Results also showed a 5 to 15 per cent rise in vehicle flow on the motorway.

The programme to install ramp signals on three motorways will be finished by the end of the year. A further 14 are being signalled on the Western Ring Route between Manukau and Albany as each part is built.