Frustration at 'poorly designed' intersection leads to drivers breaking the law

Thursday, 8 March 2018

A car crosses over the bike lane and footpath to get to the left-hand exit on Upper Harbour Drive.

Congestion, thought to be made worse by cycle lane pinch points on an Upper Harbour thoroughfare, is driving some motorists to extremes.

Cycle lanes were introduced on Upper Harbour Drive in 2015, removing street parking and causing the centre road line to be moved to accommodate cyclists on both sides of the road.

In congestion, cars use the right-hand turn lane onto Upper Harbour Drive to go straight ahead on Albany Highway.

The result has been traffic bottlenecks and bad driver behaviour, some say.

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Megan Page both bikes and drives, and said the problem wasn't bikes but traffic.

Resident Hayden Smith said the congestion due to the cycle lanes and 'poorly designed intersection' was causing normally well-behaved drivers to break the law.

With reduction of two exit lanes to one, impatient drivers resort to driving half on the footpath to try to exit left more quickly.

Vehicles turning right also get stuck, as drivers on Albany Highway use the right-hand turn lane into Upper Harbour Drive to skip traffic and go straight instead, thereby clogging the road.

Drivers also use the motorway to avoid the road and then use Albany Highway, further restricting right-turning traffic, he said.

E-bike consultant and cycle skills assessor Megan Page said the lane was an essential piece of infrastructure, but potentially the overall space needed to be wider.

The lane was a route from Upper Harbour to the North Shore that hadn't been provided any other way, Page said.

She could understand motorists' frustration, however: 'As a cyclist, we've got to say, 'Actually, you've blocked my lane.''

The problem wasn't bikes but traffic, she said, and 99 per cent of motorists shared the road well.

Future cycle lanes indicated in purple, which will match up to the existing yellow cycle lanes.

Resident Carol Cox said she recently saw a pedestrian dive for cover and feared someone would be hurt or even killed if nothing was done.

The cycle lanes form part of a developing wider network of cycle lanes in the area, more of which will be put in along State Highways 1 and 18 as part of the New Zealand Transport Agency's (NZTA) Northern Corridor Project.

Development in Greenhithe and increased traffic from Hobsonville compounded the situation, Upper Harbour Local Board chairwoman Lisa Whyte said.

Upper Harbour Local Board chairwoman Lisa Whyte said the board was not 'anti-bikes', but the design had created pinch-points for cars at the intersection.

She said Auckland Transport (AT) had not heeded the board's plea to move the cycle lane up onto the footpath and grassed area at the corner of the road, after the intersection was monitored last March.

Flexiposts will be installed to prevent drivers from driving straight ahead.

Options for the right-hand turn lane were also reviewed last year, she said.

'It is a two-pronged issue, and it is extremely disappointing that a road design has contributed to a situation where local residents are angry and frustrated and venting at other road users on social media.'

The board has worked on the issue with the Greenhithe Residents' Association for around two years, including at the cycle lane design stage, as residents thought there would be problems once the lane went in.

AT senior media advisor - walking, cycling and road safety Joanna Glasswell said the board was consulted on the cycle lane, and again when concerns were raised.

Flexiposts will be installed on sections of the cycle lane on Upper Harbour Drive and also on Albany Highway to prevent drivers from running the right-hand turn, she said.

Glasswell said at this stage there is no funding for further improvements, although detailed design work to improve the intersection has been undertaken.

After State Highway 18 was upgraded, Upper Harbour Drive traffic reduced and provided justification for the current layout, she said.

Waitematā Police senior sergeant and road policing prevention manager John Bleackley said issuing tickets or deploying officers to deal with drivers skipping the right-hand turn was not favoured as it was a very short-term solution.