Parnell Rd bus lane changes Parnell Rd bus lane changes
Consultation status: closed 5 March 2018
Proposal reference: Parnell Rd Bus lane changes
In order to improve bus reliability and frequency along key bus corridors, we are proposing a northbound bus lane on Parnell Road between Newmarket and Parnell, and a change in operating hours on the southbound bus lane between St Stephens Avenue and Sarawia Street.
Feedback closed Monday 5 March.
Why the changes are needed
Thousands of people travel along Parnell Road daily with congestion becoming a key issue in the morning and afternoon peaks. The proposed bus priority measures will help alleviate the congestion and provide an incentive for people to consider travelling by bus.
Northbound bus lane
- Starting north of Davis Crescent roundabout and finishing at Maunsell Road.
- Restarting after the Ayr Street/Parnell Road intersection and finishing at St Marys Close.
- It will be operational Monday to Friday during peak hours of 7am to 10am and 4pm to 7pm and there will be no parking during the hours of operation.
- New road marking will be required but there will be no impact on the number of traffic lanes and no change to the width of the road.
- Green surfacing will be applied along the length of the bus lane.
- We are seeking consents for the professional pruning of the Pohutakawa outside 539 to 541 Parnell Road to allow buses to safely pass.
- The bus stop opposite Ayr Street will be relocated a short distance to 487 Parnell Road and it is proposed that this will become bus shelter with a bench. This will require the removal of three parking spaces.
- The one parking space on Claybrook Road close to the intersection with Parnell Road will be removed to allow space for vehicles to safely turn onto Parnell Road.
- The bus stop outside 437 will be moved slightly north to ensure rear doors are away from the driveway.
Caption: Indicative illustration – there may be some change to the width and colour of the canopy
Southbound bus lane – St Stephen’s Avenue to Sarawia Street
- Change the operating hours from 4pm to 6pm to include the morning peak of 7am to 10am and extend the evening peak from 4pm to 7pm to better align with peak travel times.
- Remove two parking spaces on Parnell Rd just north of Cowie Street to improve visibility for drivers exiting Cowie Street.
Road markings and signage will be updated to reflect the changes. The proposed changes will provide travel time savings and service reliability improvements for public transport users.
Download the detailed design maps (PDF 7MB)
Feedback
We consulted on this proposal from 12 February to 5 March 2018 and received 109 public submissions.
Outcome of consultation
We have taken your feedback on board and will be proceeding with the proposals as presented in the consultation with some minor changes, including;
- Shortening the northern end of the proposed bus lane to reduce the risk of the queues for the right turn into St Stephen’s Avenue overlapping with the proposed bus lane.
- Removal of one parking space on Parnell Road, just north of Claybrook Road to improve visibility for drivers exiting onto Parnell Road.
- Removal of one parking space on Parnell Road, just south of Maunsell Road to improve visibility for drivers exiting onto Parnell Road.
- A minor adjustment to the southbound bus stop by Sarawia Street to move it further away from the pedestrian crossing.
Key themes identified in feedback
From your feedback we identified the following key themes:
- The largest proportion of feedback received for this project were general statements of support for the proposal overall (51%, 58 responses).
- Concerns that the proposed bus priority changes may cause further congestion along Parnell Road (15%, 16 responses).
- A desire for the bus lanes to be extended even further to give buses higher priority along Parnell Road (8%, 9 responses).
- Suggestions to remove more car parking than what was proposed to give buses higher priority along Parnell Road (7%, 8 responses).
- Concerns about loss of on-street parking to enable the proposed bus lanes (6%, 7 responses).
- Requests to make the northern bus lane continuous, as there is a proposed break on the approach to the Domain Drive/Ayr Street intersection (6%, 7 responses).
- General requests to extend the bus lanes further down Parnell Road to give buses greater priority during peak hour travel times (4%, 5 responses)
- Minor concerns about the bus stop at 542 Parnell Road being moved back slightly to 540 Parnell Road, nearer to a signalised pedestrian crossing and driveway (3%, 4 responses).
- Requests to provide cycle lanes along this section of Parnell Road in the final design (3%, 4 respondents), and expressions of concerns for cyclists’ safety in general along this stretch of Parnell Road (3%, 4 responses).
- Sharing the proposed extended bus lanes with T2/T3, EV or commercial/service delivery vehicles to help decongest the general traffic lanes (2%, 3 responses).
- Concern the replacement of the bus stop opposite Ayr Street with a cantilevered bus shelter outside 487 Parnell Road will create access and safety issues (2%, 3 responses).
Download the Parnell Road priority bus lane public feedback report (PDF 1MB, pages 28)
Next steps
Work on the new bus lane is scheduled to get underway the week of 11 February 2019 and will be completed by mid-April. The new bus lane operating hours become effective once the work is complete.
North bound bus lane work
- Green surfacing will be applied along the length of the bus lane.
- New road markings – there will be no impact on the number of traffic lanes.
- Removal of one sparking space on Claybrook Road near the intersection with Parnell Road to allow space for vehicles to safely turn onto Parnell Road.
- Removal of one parking space on Parnell Road, just south of Maunsell Road to improve visibility for drivers exiting onto Parnell Road.
- Removal of two parking spaces on Parnell Road, just north of Cowie Street to improve visibility for drivers exiting onto Parnell Road.
- The northbound bus stop on Parnell Road by the Domain Drive intersection will be moved 50m further north, to move it away from this busy intersection.
- Minor changes to some bus stops to standardise the length of the bus stops.
Northbound bus lane and Southbound bus lane – St Stephens Avenue to Sarawia Street operating hours
Once work is complete the both bus lanes will operate:
- Morning - 7am to 10am
- Evening - 4pm to 7pm