KEY POINTS:
I have one of those old green-lidded 240-litre wheelie bins that we used before the smaller red-lidded jobs came in. The wheels have fallen off, literally, and it's just a nuisance. How can I get rid of it? Do I need to take it to the dump, or will the council help?
Hazel Wood, Mt Eden.
The lovely people at the council will help. If you ring them on 379-2020 and ask them to log a job for the recall of the bin, they'll do it. You need to put the bin out on the grass berm in front of your house, and it'll be picked up within five working days.
When will the Herald's sun/moon/tide chart be published?
Stephen Cooper, Auckland.
How timely to ask that, Stephen. It'll be in the paper tomorrow.
At the Port end of the Northwestern Motorway there is what looks like a piece of unfinished road parallel to the existing motorway. It's flattened, gravelled and fenced off, and has been there since the Grafton Gully venture was completed. Is this preparation for some future roading project?
David Young, Auckland.
The land was used for a project office during the Grafton Gully upgrade. It's being kept for any future motorway works, and in the meantime, it's leased out as a carpark.
Recently a bus-only lane was created in the right-turn lane from Customs St into Commerce St in the CBD. How do private vehicles heading west on Customs St now get to the Britomart Transport Centre drop-off area?
Stuart Duncan, Auckland.
Actually, Mr Duncan, it's not so recent, so long has it taken me to answer this query. I apologise for the delay, and also for the fact that I don't have a definitive answer. I've been for a recce a couple of times, and my best suggestion is to turn off Customs St East at Fort St, follow that around until you reach Commerce St, turn right there and go straight across the Customs St intersection. This way you avoid the right turn, but it's not highly satisfactory. If anyone has a better idea, I'd be delighted to hear it.
I am lucky enough to have a bus stop very close to where I live in the Strand, Parnell. It is kept in tip-top condition, regularly cleaned and the glass replaced frequently when vandals demolish it. I couldn't ask for more, except for one thing - there are no bus services that stop there. There is one that comes down Gladstone Rd, but misses this stop by about 30m. Does all this attention to maintenance of the shelter signify we are shortly going to have a new route travelling down the Strand?
Caroline Jones, Parnell.
No it doesn't. There are no plans to introduce bus services along the Strand. The Auckland Regional Transport Authority think the bus stop may be being used by school bus services.
Whoops: In Tuesday's column I stated categorically that motorcycles may not use transit or managed priority lanes on motorway onramps. I was wrong. They may, except for the Grafton Rd southbound transit lane, which is trucks-only. I apologise unreservedly. In the coming months, the signs will be changed to reflect this.
