U-turn on Tamaki Drive bus lane

A section of Tamaki Drive will be turned into a bus lane between Kelly Tarlton's Underwater World and Ngapipi Rd after the Auckland City Council backed off extending the bus lane through busy Mission Bay.

The bus lane will be trialled for 21 buses carrying 600 passengers on the city-bound side of Tamaki Drive for 12 months between 7am and 9am on weekdays.

The standard green paint for bus lanes will not used on the scenic waterfront driveway, although this may be reviewed if safety issues or persistent illegal use of the bus lane occurs.

A number of parking spaces used by between 30 and 45 vehicles for an informal park and ride by bus users at the Ngapipi Rd end of the bus lane will be lost but the council believes there are enough spare parking spaces on the seaward side of Tamaki Drive to meet the shortfall.

The project is expected to cost about $250,000 and will involve widening the parking lane. There will be no change to the number of traffic lanes. The bus lane will run for 1.5km from the bus stop south of Kelly Tarlton's to the bus stop 60m east of Ngapipi Rd.

Transport committee chairman Richard Simpson said the council wanted to build on the bus services using Tamaki Drive.

"It's a unique part of the city and the trial status of the bus lane reflects that. There have been concerns raised about temporarily removing parks and adverse impacts on other motorists. The trial will allow us to evaluate and consider these impacts with actual information," Mr Simpson said.