Parking and lane changes are being made along Hutt Road from Monday 30 April as work continues to make the city’s busiest commuter biking route safer for everyone.

As part of the project, about 70 new on-street car parking spaces will be available between Placemakers and Winger BMW from Monday except during the busy morning peak (Monday to Friday, 7am–9.30am) when a clearway will operate. This means people travelling along Hutt Road towards the city after the morning peak or during the weekend will need to merge into one lane just after the pedestrian crossing near Placemakers.

The morning clearway will provide two lanes for traffic at the busiest time of day – just as there is now.

Wellington City Council has continued to take a lenient approach to parking during the construction period to assist businesses in the area. However, with work nearing completion, and the new on-street parking in place, the remaining ‘footpath’ parking will go.

From Monday anyone who parks on any part of the new footpath, bike path, or on the shared path north of Caltex Fuel Stop, will risk getting a ticket and being towed.

The City Council’s Network Improvements Planning Manager, Paul Barker, says the latest changes are designed to make things safer for the people who are using the upgraded paths.

“They will allow the many hundreds of people commuting on bikes and on foot on this route to use the newly upgraded walking and cycling facilities as intended, without having to negotiate vehicles parked on the path – or watch for people driving and reversing along the pathway,” he says.

Work north of Aotea Quay overbridge will be finished in the next few weeks, including new pavement markings and signs.

Downer construction workers will then start under the overbridge and begin upgrading the next section to the intersection of Tinakori Road. Weather depending, work on this stretch will take about four months.

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