I just noticed today that Auckland Transport have come up with a bit of information on a proposed upgrade to the notoriously congested Te Atatu Road, between the motorway interchange and the roundabout with Edmonton Road. My understanding is that at peak times this is one of the most congested parts of the roading network – in some respects having similarities to Onewa Road on the North Shore as it’s the only connection to the motorway for a pretty large chunk of West Auckland. Here’s a map of the area the upgrade covers:
The need for the project is pretty obvious as the stretch of road suffers from really bad congestion problems as well as safety issues. I can’t imagine how difficult it must be to cross at peak times. Here’s some background information from the AT website:
Te Atatu Road is a regional arterial road which provides a gateway for some 38,000 vehicles per day that access the North-Western Motorway (State Highway 16), Te Atatu, Henderson and greater Waitakere.
This part of the road network has a high incidence of accidents, with some 170 reported crashes occurring in the past five years. Although none of the crashes was fatal there were a high number of accidents involving turning rear-ending, and overtaking collisions. There were unfortunately a number of serious injuries involved.
There is also considerable congestion at peak hours along the project corridor, and travel times can be inconsistent for those using the road.
The NZ Transport Agency (NZTA) is also planning to upgrade the Te Atatu Road Interchange as part of the State Highway 16 Waterview to Te Atatu widening section between approximately 2013 and 2014. The upgrade of the Te Atatu corridor will support the improvements planned at the motorway interchange.
I would say that some upgrade to Te Atatu Road is utterly critical to occur at either the same time, or before, the northwest motorway is widened. It’s fairly typical of NZTA to widen their motorways in a way that will inevitably dump a huge amount of traffic onto particular local roads (think Maioro Road, Tiverton Road & Wolverton Street). In terms of safety, wow 170 accidents in the last five years along a pretty short stretch of road seems really high.
The project description makes some promising noises about public transport benefits too:
Features
The project will:
- Address road safety concerns
- Provide road improvements for all modes of transport
- Enhance public transport infrastructure
- Encourage modes of transport other than private motor vehicle
- Upgrade pedestrian facilities
- Expand Auckland’s cycle lane network and connections with the regional cycle network
- Provide easier vehicle access and turning for connecting roads off Te Atatu Road
Design components
Te Atatu Road:
- Cycle lanes in both directions (on or off road)
- 2 to 3 metre wide flush (painted) median
- 2.4 metre wide footpath on the West side and 1.8 metre footpath on the East side
- New traffic signals at the Edmonton Rd/Flanshaw Road intersection
- Upgraded traffic signals at Vera Road/Jaemont Avenue and Covil Avenue intersections
- Street landscape treatment/planting where possible
- Northbound bus advance lane on Te Atatu Road at the approach to the North-Western Motorway (SH16) eastbound ramps.
Edmonton Road:
- Cycle lanes in both directions
- 2.5 metre wide flush (painted) median
- 1.8 metre wide footpath on each side
- Street landscape planting where possible
Sounds reasonably promising. Great that there will be cycle lanes (although would a two-way protected cycle-path on one side of the road be better than suicide lanes next to 35,000 vehicles a day?) Great that there will be a median strip making life easier for pedestrians and making turning movements safer for vehicles. Potentially great that something’s said about bus priority, particularly in the ‘features’ part of the project.
So let’s look at the maps and see where the bus priority is:
For the full size map click here. From what I can see, bus lanes are provided in one place only – on the westbound off-ramp. A transit lane is proposed on the city bound onramp, and that’s it. A cross-section view confirms that in reality there’s not much priority for buses in this project at all:
Looking a bit closer at where the northwest cycleway crosses Te Atatu Road also highlights another problem with the proposal – that cyclists will need to cross four sets of lights (which of course will be timed to benefit cars not the cyclists) before they can continue on their journey:
Unfortunately, much like many other transport projects in Auckland, it seems as though this is a classic example of “PT-wash“, much like ‘greenwash’ trumpeting the public transport credentials of a project when the actual benefits to PT are negligible or non-existent. And this is really a pity, because I wonder whether an Onewa Road T3 solution here could work quite well.
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The transit lane on the on-ramp already exists and a bus lane on the off-ramp along with bus priority lights also already exists so there isn’t any great improvement there. The only real change will be that after the motorway is widened the city bound transit lane will turn into a bus lane for a while until the next interchange and the westbound bus lane will also go back to the previous interchange.
I would also note that 4 sets of traffic lights for cyclists to cross also seems to be what is happening at the interchange at Lincoln Rd
Something defintely needs to be done here. In March this trip on the bus can go from 30 mins to 90 mins. Just crazy! The time it takes to drive to Hamilton.
typical Auckland, another load of cash flushed down the toilet to further entrench the car in West Auckland and Auckland as a whole.
rtc , what a tool you are. New Zealand would be way better if it ended at the Bombay Hills I catch the bus everyday and these changes will help us greatly.
Rant “As someone mentioned earlier, the transit lane (bus / T2) already exists from the bridge. As a Te Atatu Peninsula resident it infuriates me to constantly be waiting at a red light to head West while waiting for single occupant vehicles to get a green light onto the ‘transit’ lane. Happy to wait for correctly loaded cars and buses but……” End of rant 🙂
This seems to be another of those plans that tries to do everything and actually achieves very little. The bottle-neck is the motorway. Until there is good public transport along this route (North-West) there will be too many cars trying to get on to the motorway, both at Te Atatu and Lincoln Road. There should be a median barrier down the middle of Te Atatu South road from the Edmonton Rd roundabout. I realise this will prevent right hand turns into properties but a great deal of the traffic that is using side roads are not local residents but people from further afield looking for a short cut. It would, however, improve safety by a large margin. I would also keep the roundabout to enable those who have to cross the road can do so by going around and then back down the lane. Using a median barrier would also alow more room for another dedicated bus lane.
Maybe this also shows the need for a PT bridge accross the Whau to get PT onto the (non-existant) Busway?
Bottom line – is this about safety or congestion? Beacuse you can fix one but the other won’t be resolved by these works.
4 sets of traffic lights for bikes. What a load of rubbish. It should be an underpass for the cycleway.
And as for the ‘suicide lanes’, nicely put. It wouldn’t hurt to have a small raised median of 2 feet wide or so between the cycle lanes and the left side car lanes.
Cyclists are 3rd class citizens.
Having represented CAA at the Board of Inquriy hearings on exactly that matter, I have argued quite fervently that grade spearation, or at least partial grade separation, is very important here, seeing that the number of lights to be crossed on the Northwestern Cycleway goes up from 2 to 4. One of the arguments the design / NZTA side gave against it was that they had looked at it, but didn’t think it was feasible. Which was a VERY weak response – I in fact countered it with a variety of concept design (I am a transport engineer).
We eventually got SOME concessions on this matter, which DID flow through to the resource consent conditions, being that:
Condition OT.1
(e) Opportunities to review traffic signal timings at the Te Atatu Interchange with a view to
minimising delays to all users, including cyclists on the SH16 cycle way; and
(f) The commitment of the NZTA to provide for cycle “aspects” (cycle signal lights) at the
Great North Road Interchange.
(g) As part of detailed design at the Te Atatu Interchange, the installation of underpasses
and/or overbridges, provided however that should same not prove feasible in civil or
traffic engineering design terms, the installation of coordinated traffic signal operation
for cyclists on the north-western cycleway by means of synchronised cycle lights which
seek to reduce delays for cyclists.
So technically, condition g) still allows for grade separation, and CAA will keep pushing for it, and failing to get that, will keep pushing at least for futureproofing.
On the Te Atatu project – well, I wouldn’t call them “suicide lanes”. Cycle lanes are proven to make a significant safety benefit for cyclists. BUT the problem is that, especially on such a road like Te Atatu Road will become, they will do much less to get new people cycling. Their main benefit will be to improve the lot of people who already dare to ride with cars. That’s why my first reaction was the same – why can’t we do something better, especially at the intersections. Again, CAA will fight for that, but getting progress on cycling in Auckland is a three steps forward, two steps back process.
don’t talk to me about those 4 sets of lights! They are a pain in the arse even today when you only have to cross 3… Cycle Action Auckland have worked very hard putting forward solutions to fix this and nobody is prepared to spend the money to do it.
Fricking douchebags!
And I would’ve thought that grade separation would be relatively easy considering that you’ve got to climb a grade up from the Whau bridge and then head downhill through that park.
Seem to be all about the money but don’t have any sense.
The resource consent design coincided with a strong directive of the minister to cut costs for the Waterview project, which, owing to it’s enormous motorway size, was starting to get really… costly. So the idea of building more cycle bridges wasn’t exactly high on their list, was my feeling.
It would be great if all those who come to the info day on the 5th could explain to the NZTA guys (who apparently will also attend) the importance of getting the grade separation.
The one bus lane will of course “operate” from 7:30 to 8:00AM on weekdays only. This is just a road widening that will only serve to take a few vehicles off Lincoln Road. So much for PT. This could have been an opportunity to reduce, even slightly, the ratio of driving commuting trips in the city. Instead, it’s a very expensive joke. Well, that’s what you get by leaving these things in the hands of people who are fundamentally incapable of emapthising with anyone other than motorists.
This is why we need another Whau River crossing. That way Henderson buses and Henderson/Glendene/Te Atatu South Traffic would never need to go near this bottleneck. The bottleneck is the Whau River. You have to go all the way to Rata St, New Lynn (8kms downstream) to avoid the interchange. Look at the map and it makes perfect sense. Widening Te Atatu Rd will simply turn this area into a wasteland.
I agree that another crossing of the Whau is what is really needed to help spread out the traffic on the interchange and Te Atatu Rd.
One thing that is worth pointing out is that the road is already 4 lanes wide so this work doesn’t seem to be about adding more capacity but the addition of cycle lanes andmaking it safer for turning cars through having the a central median the whole way and. I would also say that changing the roundabout to a controlled intersection would make things much safer and easier for pedestrians who currently have pretty perilous crossings to contend with, currently on the section to the north east of the roundabout would be extremely dangerous as you either have to contend with vehicles accelerating to get into a gap on the roundabout or on the other side of the road ones who are trying to accelerate out of it. On Edmondton Rd it is a controlled intersection but seems like lots of cars don’t stop or if they do they block up the interchange and on the southern side of Te Atatu there isn’t even a crossing.
Not only that Matt, you have a supermarket carpark on that intersection which is very dangerous and difficult to get in and out of. Decreasing the amount of traffic that funnels through the whole area by new crossings over the river and off the peninsula is the obvious solution. Increasing the volume of traffic simply makes it more dangerous for pedestrians (there are a lot of schools in this area), cyclists and motorists which will only increase the accidents.
I’m amazed nobody can see that.
But it wouldn’t it increase traffic as there aren’t planned to be any more lanes than now. It seems to be about making the existing situation safer
Matt
Surely widening the Te Atatu interchange and the motorway will mean more vehicles will get through the interchange quicker. Won’t that mean more cars moving along Te Atatu rd per minute? Personally I’m quite happy for Edmonton and Te Atatu Rds (below the roundabout) to stay 1 lane, its much easier for pedestrians to cross a 1 lane than 2 lane rd.
If you look at the interchange as it is now then you will see there isn’t much difference to what’s shown here, the biggest difference is that the westbound bus lane has moved to the side of the road rather than being in the middle. The only other major difference I can see is that there are three lanes northbound compared to two now however seeing as there probably isn’t that much demand for traffic heading north it shouldn’t make that much of a difference to the motorway.
Is there going to be any improvement for traffic going West at the interchange? I used to wait in line with East bound traffic in the morning, to turn left onto a largely empty motorway. No more, as I always travel to Lincoln Rd now, to get on the motorway, as it has a dedicated left turning lane. I have also gone to Lincoln Rd interchange to go EAST in the morning, as I often can pass Te Atatu interchange sooner than if I waited to get on there, and it’s always, even at the worst, the same time!
It took 15 minutes to travel that kilometre in morning rush hours. So the lanes would improve many West Auckland routes by 15 minutes approx.
For the Flyer leaving Te Atatu, bus lanes would improve the time from 40 minutes to 25 minutes making it way faster than driving.
This stretch of Te Atatu Rd was a place where it was faster to walk than catch the bus 🙂
I would frequently get to my bus stop just after a flyer bus had left. I could always walk briskly, get ahead of the bus and jump on at the next stop.
Bus lanes for the last kilometre before the motorway have been badly needed for a long time.
Graeme – There aren’t any bus lanes going in other than pretty much what exists already
My comment above, I am referring to the stretch between Edmonton Rd and the motorway. City bound routes.
And looking at the outline above, there still won’t be a PT lane from Edmonton Road to the Motorway (city bound). Apart from safety, it will not change a thing. In fact, I don’t even think it is any safer than present.
As an affected resident of Te Atatu Rd, I cannot see the reason for taking 3 metres of our land, moving the traffic sideways into our living rooms just to add a cycle suicide lane, wider footpaths (very few pedestrians) and a median strip. The real problem of Te Atatu Rd will remain, ie. too much traffic, and it will only increase too. Now is the time to look at alternative links into the West i.e another crossing over the Whau River, thereby taking some of the load off Te Atatu Rd and Lincoln Rd. This whole project is a complete waste of money!
I totally agree with Anne. Why are they making cycle lanes when the dang cyclist always cycle on the fricken road anyway?!! All these changes, all this money, all this time going to waste! I’ve been living in te atatu for over 35years (full of memories) and now they plan too take away my home!!??? Stuff you NZTA!!! This is what I think of you and your team! **MIDDLE FINGER** to the NZTA!
Yes have to agree a better solution and use of the money would be alleviating traffic to Hepburn Road and a Whau Bridge. The traffic will just build up again once the changes are bought in.
Hmmm cycle lanes. Cyclist are still going to choose quickest route, cutting in and out, going through red lights and trying to challenge cars. [yes I know not all cyclist ]. Took me 45mins from Countdown Edmonton Road to city on ramp other day.
?What was the point of this comment? Cyclists should be banned and thereby extra cars on the road? Or are you suggesting more red light cameras are needed to catch all the cars ignoring traffic lights and cameras to record and fine all the cars failing to give way to other road users?
QPR, are you saying cyclists are causing the congestion?
Hrmmm, Takes me 35mins in rush hour traffic by bike from Te Atatu South to CBD… 55mins by bus, 65mins by car and an hour 15 by train. Hell, I can run home in an hour… Not really sure what these improvements will actually achieve.
Somebody fix the civil avenue, traffic lights as its taking double the time to change.