KEY POINTS:
What is happening or about to happen to the land adjacent to the offramp to Upper Harbour Drive/Constellation Drive? Trees and bushes have been removed and mulched, and now some minor earthworks are taking place. Is this preparatory work for a new offramp to Sunset Rd?
David McPherson, Glenfield.
I'm afraid not. The work is part of a project to install new traffic management tools along State Highway 18.
New CCTV cameras will be put in and linked to the traffic management centre at Northcote. The system is similar to that which already covers the Northern, Southern and Northwestern Motorways. Live footage of SH18 will be available on Transit's highway info website by the end of the year, so the public can check traffic hitches and glitches.
In addition, two new overhead message signs will be put up to advise motorists of incidents up ahead. The first will be sited between Caribbean Drive and Paul Matthews Drive heading towards Waitakere, and the other will be between the Greenhithe Rd interchange and the Tauhinu Rd interchange for traffic heading towards the North Shore. These will be in place early next year.
Why is there a light-controlled left turn from Tristram Ave on to the northbound onramp to the Northern Motorway? A red light causes considerable gridlock across the Tristram Ave/Wairau Rd intersections at offpeak as well as peak times. Surely that could be a free turn or a give way?
Philip Officer, North Shore.
It's a safety issue, apparently. Traffic leaving the motorway via the offramp can drive straight across Tristram Ave to Croftfield Lane. Motorists turning left on to the onramp would usually expect to watch only for right-turning traffic coming from ahead, not the straight-through traffic from the offramp.
The offramp traffic can be travelling at speed, and without those traffic lights on the left turn an accident could result from motorists' unfamiliarity with the intersection. Recently, I came into the city for a specialist's appointment.
I am 80 and use a walking frame, but the Link bus driver would not allow it on to the bus and told me to take a taxi. This cost me over $30, which I thought was a bit unfair. What are the bus company regulations about mobility aids on buses? Are there some time restrictions?
Olaf Osmond, Pukekohe.
The nice people at NZ Bus, who run the Link service, were horrified when I asked about this, and they will be in touch to rectify the matter. They had no record of the incident.
They say that all customers who use walkers are welcome on the buses, and the Link service offers specific seating for those who require it. The Link fleet are "kneeling buses" to make access easier for people with walkers, wheelchairs and pushchairs.
