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Tamaki Drive bus lane gets go-ahead
12 July 2006
Tamaki Drive bus lane gets go-ahead
Bus passengers in the city's eastern bays are set for a quicker ride into the city, with a 12 month trial of a bus lane on Tamaki Drive endorsed by the council's Transport and Urban Linkages Committee today.
The citybound bus lane, between Kelly Tarlton's and Ngapipi Road, is a first for this iconic Auckland street. It aims to make bus travel on this key arterial route more attractive, encouraging greater bus patronage from people living in the eastern bays and beyond.
The council worked closely with the local community board to address concerns raised during public consultation about removing parking during bus lane operating hours.
"Tamaki Drive already plays an important role in servicing bus passengers. We want to build on this and increase people's travel choices as a result," says Councillor Richard Simpson, chairperson of the Transport and Urban Linkages Committee.
"It's also a unique part of the city and the trial status of the bus lane reflects that. There have been concerns raised about temporarily removing parking and adverse impacts on other motorists. The trial will allow us to evaluate and consider these impacts with actual information.
"The consultation process has been extremely successful. The Eastern Bays community board has helped deliver an effective solution in line with their community's views," says Mr Simpson.
The 1.5km long bus lane will operate Monday to Friday, between 7am and 9am. Currently around 600 bus passengers travel along Tamaki Drive during this period each weekday morning.
"We have achieved a great outcome for bus passengers, which is essential to encourage use of more sustainable travel choices such as bus travel. It's expected passengers will save 2.5 minutes per trip, which is a good start in such a key area," says Mr Simpson.
"Cyclists also benefit from the bus lane's introduction as they can share the lane, as they can with any of the city's 26km bus lane network."
Work to introduce the bus lane is expected to begin in the next few months and will mostly include changing road markings.
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