I caught a different bus from usual today, as I had to drop my car off for a bit of a fix up in Pt Chevalier (cost: more than $400 or around six months worth of bus fares). On the way into, and out of, town I noticed that the Karangahape Road bridge over the motorway is well advanced in terms of its rebuild. A bit of a dig through the agenda for this evening’s meeting of the Waitemata Local Board shows what things are going to look like when completed:
The old shelters had some nostalgic charm I suppose, as they always screamed “1980s Auckland”, but it was certainly time for them to go. Already, passing through the area seems a lot more open and you get to enjoy the view much more.
I really like the grooviness of K Road, but as a public transport route it has a lot to be desired. What is with the bizarrely placed bus stops for example – some buses stop here, others 200m up the road, others at both stops? And along a route that has such a huge number of buses, why is there such little bus priority? And finally, why is the right-turn arrow from Queen Street into Karangahape Road on such a short phase?
Auckland’s PT network could be vastly improved if we just started getting the little things right. Like logical bus stop placements, good signage, bus priority measures where they’re needed, traffic-signal phasing that assists buses rather than punishing them, and so forth.
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K’Rd needs turning back into a local and PT privileged road. A good hard look needs to be taken at the motorway on ramp off Symonds St. Our sorry schizophrenic motorway system; can’t decide whether it’s an interstate or for getting little James to Grammar. The Wellington St on ramp clearly is unneeded [anyone noticed it is closed?] so how about the one at the top of K?
I know for a fact that NZTA want to close that Symonds Street onramp, they just need a bit of pushing I suspect.
Well if those motorway maniacs want to close it, who’s stopping them?
It always seemed useful for me, as someone who regularly drives from the city to the Southern. I think now that you’ve got that better overbridge down off Symonds, it makes some sense to remove it.
Still, it might be worth removing, but I’m not sure what the harm is (apart from slowing the signal phasing there).
(We do have to remember that most of the motorway was built and designed decades ago, when the city was very different in almost every respect).
I think the main harm (aside from its impact on the heritage values of Symonds Street cemetery) is that it drags a lot of traffic through Karangahape Road towards it. No reason why those vehicles can’t use other options like Hobson Street or Grafton Gully.
I can see why NZTA want to be rid of it- the merging slows speed down on their big baby, doubt they give a damn about K’Rd.- wouldn’t consider it their issue. And frankly with onramps at Nelson and Grafton it should go. We need our local roads back and that is too much merging down in the rat run. Remember it is the third of four on ramps over a very short distance, one of which goes into the fast lane and now the main flow is about to be feed by twice as many lanes from the Bridge.
Very short distance? There’s Hobson, then Symonds, then Stanley St, then Parnell Rise.
I think that Hobson and Newton Rd onramps do far more to drag people down K, actually. But I’m not sure how you’d deal to any of these. Staunching one point would increase it at the other. The traffic flow from the Symonds onramp is pretty light even at peak hour, these others much less so.
There’s Hobson Street, Northwestern Motorway (from the west), Symonds Street, Northwestern Motorway (from Grafton Gully). It’s pretty much bang on 1km from Hobson St ramp to the Grafton Gully ramp.
Yes, but then you drag even more cars down the K-Pitt confluence. I happen to think that it drains K, rather than fills it. Shutting it would do little to get cars from the inner city, and replace them with better modes of transport – which is what needs to happen.
George, really? and before the drain can empty it needs to fill…. K’Rd is not a car destination of any quantity, and will be even less of one with the removal of those crappy parking buildings behind the old George Courts. This is the fact that killed it as a viable retail location when AK was forced into car only transit. It can be fixed. And taking out its attractiveness as a through route is a help.
If you remove Wellington Street, then people like me who often have to go to the Shore from Kingsland would need to drive all the way through town to Fanshawe Street. This adds on between 5 and 10 minutes to the journey. I think we need three interchanges with the local road system. One at the south end of the city, say Newton Road, one at Fanshawe and one at Stanley Street. This would provide a good coverage for all parts of the city and surrounding suburbs.
I like the idea of replacing the Wellington St onramp with one from Newton Road but I’m afraid it’s a bit late. NZTA has just gone to a huge amount of trouble to design the Vic Park Tunnel project around keeping the Wellington St ramp.
I know. It’s a shame as much of Kingsland, Dominion Road and northern Mt Eden will contine to have to use K Road to get to Wellington Street. Closing Wellington Street won’t really help as traffic will then be forced down either Queen Street or along K Road then Pitt Street to reach Nelson Street.
I’d use Western Springs/Mountain View Rds and get on at St Lukes. Much quicker from Kingsland!
No it isn’t as I live at the Dominion Road end of Kingsland, I’d have to travel 2 kms in the wrong way then back again.
Re. the right turn phase from Queen St – I had the exact same thought on Saturday afternoon waiting for a bus to Richmond Road from opposite St Kevin’s. From when the electronic display changed to ‘DUE’, there were 7 phases (and about 8 minutes) until the bus made it through the intersection.
If you watch this intersection during evening peak you’ll see buses constantly screaming right from Queen St on to K Road through the orange and red arrows, and while that’s not a good thing it’s clearly understandable why it happens.
Gus, this won’t be a problem shortly. With the central bus changes you won’t be able to travel from K Rd to Richmond Rd directly at all.
Ah yes very good point. Are the inner-west/Link buses the only ones that currently turn right from Queen St into K Rd?
I don’t like that there’s a gap between the roof and sides of the shelters. The old shelters were at least almost completely shielded from any type of Auckland weather. I think the bus stops outside Family and opposite could be consolidated into the ones on the overbridge without too much inconvience.
The Symonds Street onramp should be moved slightly up Symonds Street so it doesn’t interfere with the Grafton Bridge/K Road intersection.
The area beyond the motorway overbridge has always struggled. The corner of K-Road and Ponsonby should be a gateway to the inner city, but once the motorway sliced K-Road in two, foot traffic at the western end died off, and the brothels moved in. Even with the ‘gentrification’ of that area, most businesses past the bridge are marginally viable at best.
Removing the shelter is going to put the area back into decline. There is a 100m wide ‘moat’ that surrounds the central city, and removing the shelter from one of the few ‘drawbridges’ is idiotic. If a shopper is strolling, and can’t clearly see the next shop due to a gap such as the K-Road bridge, or a wide 4 lane road such as Symonds Street, they will not cross unless they have a firm destination on the other side.
There has always been occasional talk of widening the bridge in order to build shops over the motorway. My Grandparents claim that this was a subject of discussion when the motorway was built, but was pulled due to funding. I wonder if the airspace is owned by the city council or the central government?
Lol. 1 out of 9 comments relate to the direct post subject, the rest are “but why don’t they…”. Good thing we are not running out of things to criticise (eh… improve).
[Relax! I do that as much as anyone else here – see below]
Liked the external screens on the new bridge when only they were up. The new bus shelters will sadly break up that purity. Maybe that is what I liked about the old bridge – it was one consistent feature. But then I also should wait and see how the new one looks “in the flesh”.
Right. What’s with those cars parked in the top illustration? Also this is all the more reason for the 020 to travel this way – potentially this revamped area could be an interchange for buses to the west. You know, part of an integrated network of services.
Oh oh …. look at the design. It is from the Westgate bus interchange “style over function” school of architecture. By separating the roof from the glass back wall, it will provide little real shelter except in handily vertical rain, and how often does that occur in Auckland.
Wow, they are going to change the direction of the motorway.
Does NZTA know about this?
The lanes closest are the links from sh16 & port to sh1 northbound. The lanes in the distance are sh1 northbound and the two merge after passing K rd. The southbound lanes and links are underneath the northbound ones
Wow, they are going to change the direction of the motorway.
Does NZTA know about this?
Ha! Artists have incredible power. Don’t mess with them.
Re: the bus stop configuration on K Road. I have been complaining about this since 2005: http://uroskin.blogspot.com/2005/05/txt-ing-rideline-on-late-afternoon-i.html
This would be a good spot for some shops with apartments above. Agreed the new design doesn’t look appropriately weatherproof.
Like our leaky buildings, architects have also been giving us leaky bus shelters. The (then) new glass ones down by the university on Symonds Street leaked too.
It’s amazing how architects will prioritise form over simple function (shelters exist to _shelter_ strangely enough). Yes, let’s live in an interesting city, but let’s get the basics right too!
and why is it so incredibly shit to cycle down? (I don’t actually know the answer to this question but it never fails to strike me every time I come down there how unpleasant it is).