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Great North Rd, Grosvenor St & Bond St intersection improvements Great North Rd, Grosvenor St & Bond St intersection improvements

Consultation status: Closed 3 September 2017

We sought feedback on a proposal for changes to the intersection of Great North Road, Grosvenor Street and Bond Street, and changes to the southern end of Grosvenor Street.

In September and October 2016, we consulted on 4 cycle routes in wider Grey Lynn, Arch Hill and Westmere. We have already completed construction of one of these routes, Route 3: Greenways, which runs up Grosvenor Street. Later this year we will begin construction on another route, Route 4: Great North Road.

The design for the improvements to the Great North Road, Grosvenor Street and Bond Street intersection was under development at the time of our 2016 consultation, so we were unable to seek your feedback at that time.

Download: Consultation plan for Great North Rd/Grosvenor St/Bond St intersection upgrade (PDF 560KB)

Proposed changes

Intersection of Great North Road, Bond Street and Grosvenor Street

  • Install a new signalised pedestrian and cycle crossing (toucan crossing) on Great North Road, East of Bond Street.
  • Remove Grosvenor Street from the signalised intersection layout, and ban the Bond Street to Grosvenor Street traffic movement.
  • East-bound traffic on Great North Road will enter Grosvenor Street via a left-turn slip lane. Beaconsfield Street and Elgin Street can be used as alternatives to Grosvenor Street.
  • Change the existing pedestrian crossing on Great North Road, west of Bond Street, to instead land east of the Grosvenor Street entrance - this will shorten the distance pedestrians need to cross.
  • Raise the cycle lane from 321 Great North Road to the eastern pedestrian crossing (raised, but not in line with the footpath). Traffic lanes would be slightly adjusted to accommodate this.
  • Alter traffic signal lights to accommodate cyclists, the extra pedestrian crossing, bus and other traffic movements.
  • Change the bus stop layout at 332 Great North Road, while retaining the existing stop and shelter location.
  • Install a speed table at the entrance to Grosvenor Street

While traffic analysis predicts a potential small increase in journey time due to the proposed new pedestrian crossing, we consider the resulting increase in pedestrian safety is important.

Southern end of Grosvenor Street

  • Change existing five 90-degree car parks to angled parks.
  • Install a cycle lane on the eastern side of Grosvenor Street (in front of the angled parks) from the intersection to 1A Grosvenor Street. This becomes a shared space for cyclists and motorists, and will connect to the rest of the Greenways route at Grey Lynn Park.
  • New bike parking (sheffield stands).
  • The bus lane hours will be extended by one hour:
    • East/city-bound morning peak: currently 7am to 9am; to be 7am to 10am.
    • West-bound afternoon peak: currently 4pm to 6pm; to be 4pm to 7pm.

Three trees are proposed to be removed along Great North Road, close to Grosvenor Street (opposite bus stop 8108), to accommodate a half-kerb raised cycleway (refer to consultation plan). These trees will be replaced along Great North Road.

Why the changes are needed

We anticipate a higher pedestrian and cyclist demand due to installation of a new on-road cycleway and bus priority route along Great North Road, and as a result of new development in the area.

The following issues have been identified with the existing Bond Street/Great North Road intersection, which our proposed changes would address:

  • The Bond Street to Grosvenor Street movement:
    • Increases the distance for pedestrians to cross Great North Road.
    • Creates a hazard as traffic needs to look out for cyclists on the cycleway on both Great North Road and Grosvenor Street.
    • Is often used as a short-cut route, with Grosvenor Street not being the intended destination. There are other side streets nearby that would accommodate the through demand, such as Beaconsfield Street and Crummer Road.
    • Requires traffic to perform a quick 'left-then-right' turn, which can be unsafe.
    • Currently there is no safe crossing facility for pedestrians to cross Grosvenor Street - they need to be aware of traffic coming from all directions.
    • The right-turn movement from Great North Road into Grosvenor Street is already banned due to these safety concerns, and allowing the Bond Street to Grosvenor Street movement adds more confusion and increases the risk to all users at this intersection.
  • Pedestrians approaching from the east currently need to cross Bond Street in order to cross Great North Road - this adds risk and journey time for both pedestrians and traffic. A new pedestrian crossing east of the intersection means this movement would not be required.
  • People on bikes do not currently have the option to go off-road through the intersection when travelling east to west. By introducing this alternative, the cycle routes would appeal to people with a wider range of cycling abilities, including those who are less confident.
  • The increase in traffic in Auckland has resulted in buses needing more clearway time in peak hours than currently provided.

As part of the Route 3: Greenways consultation in September-October 2016, we proposed reverse-in angled parks to replace the existing 90-degree car parks on the eastern side of Grosvenor Street, near the Great North Road intersection.

As a result of the design process following that consultation, this section has now been re-designed to accommodate a cycleway from the intersection. The cycleway will go around the car parks (now proposed to be ‘nose-in’ angle parks), to improve accessibility and cyclist safety when connecting to the rest of the Greenways Route.