Te Atatū T2 lanes Te Atatū T2 lanes

Te Atatū (South) T2 and bus priority lanes

Status: Construction

The public provided feedback for this project from 15 November 2021 to 05 December 2021. The Te Atatū South Bus Priority Lanes Public Feedback Report (PDF 745KB) summarizes the large number of submissions we received. We have also provided our responses to queries and concerns received from the community on the report.

What happens next

We anticipate this project will begin construction in the fourth quarter of 2023, around September and October. We will be in touch with the Henderson-Massey Local Board, schools, residents, and local businesses once we have confirmed the construction timeline.

We will work closely with the community to minimise disruption as much as possible and ensure advance notice is given of any works.

Project overview

Aucklanders have told us that moving around our city safely and easily is important to them. We are making some improvements to the southern section of Te Atatū Road. The changes are located on Te Atatū Road between Bridge Avenue and McLeod Road, and a section of Edmonton Road.

The changes will align with the Northwestern Bus Improvements project, and will improve the level of service for active modes as well as improving the overall operation and safety of the corridor.

Auckland Transport has created a strategy to improve the efficiency of the bus network to meet the projected population growth and the demand for public transport in the coming years. By 2046, there will be nearly triple the number of people travelling along the Northwestern Motorway (SH16). More people need to travel by bus and multiple occupancy vehicles, or congestion will get worse, and journeys will take longer.

Project aims and benefits

The Te Atatū T2 lanes project will:

Increase the efficiency and reliability of public transport by making it a competitive option for journeys to, from and within the northwest area.
Improved public transport uptake to, from and within the northwest area.
Promote sustainability by minimising the number of cars on the road, fewer cars on the road will reduce carbon emissions.
Create a better-connected city, improved access for people to opportunities.
Improve public transport patronage on the Northwest Rapid Transit Network corridor by providing efficient connections to the proposed bus interchange at Te Atatū Road.
Improve travel times and reliability for multiple occupancy vehicles, buses, and motorbikes.

Better utilise limited road space and reduce the need to expand existing roads (expanding roads is not a feasible option to accommodate ongoing traffic growth).
- This project will significantly increase the people carrying capacity of the road as it will encourage more people to travel by bus and multiple occupancy vehicles. AT’s Urban Street and Road Design Guide shows the space efficiency of each transport mode:

- Based on surveys in early 2021, 41%-60% of people currently using this road will be able to use the T2 Lanes. The 60% figure is people travelling towards the motorway in the AM peak. As the project will make travel by bus and multiple occupancy vehicle more attractive it is likely that the T2 Lane will benefit a higher percentage of people over time.
Minimise travel delays to vehicles using the general traffic lane.
- The current congestion is predominantly caused by the limited capacity of the motorway onramp signals and the motorway i.e., vehicles waiting to enter the motorway. These changes do not reduce the number of vehicles that can access the motorway from Te Atatū Road during a green phase of the onramp lights, so overall traffic congestion should remain similar on Te Atatū Road. However, the general vehicle lane will experience some delays as buses and multiple occupancy vehicles move to the front of the queue.
- The T2 Lane is likely to encourage more people to travel by bus and high occupancy vehicles, which over time will help reduce the number of vehicles using the general traffic lane.
A primary aim of the project is also to maintain and enhance the safety of all road users, particularly vulnerable road users such as pedestrians and people on bikes.

Timeline

Mid-November 2021 – consultation opens
5 December 2021 – consultation closes
September 2023 – Public feedback report published
November 2023 - Construction begins

T2 and bus lanes along Te Atatū Road (south)

Northbound T2 Lane that starts at the Te Atatū Road/McLeod Road intersection and finishes opposite Covil Ave. Operates AM (7-10am)
Northbound on Edmonton Road, create a short stretch of T2 Lane at the approach to its intersection with Te Atatū Road. Operates AM (7-10am)

Work location

The Te Atatū Road T2 Lane project is made of four sections of work. These are:

Te Atatū Road between Edmonton Road and Bridge Avenue
The intersection of Te Atatū Road and Edmonton Road, with a short stretch of T2 Lane on Edmonton Road
Te Atatū Road between McLeod Road and Edmonton Road
The intersection of Te Atatū Road and Roberts Road

Detailed overview of planned work

Download the updated design for this project (3.7MB)

Te Atatū Road between McLeod Road and Edmonton Road

Install a new northbound T2 Lane operating 7am-10am, Monday-Friday.
Relocation of the existing bus stop and shelter from outside 117 to 115 Te Atatū Road.
Relocation of the bus stop from 114 to 116, 137 to 135 Te Atatū Road and the relocation of the shelter from 206 to 204 Te Atatū Road.
Relocation of the existing bus stop and shelter from outside 197 to 215 Te Atatū Road. The new bus stop will be located in the general traffic lane, but there is space in the painted median for vehicles to pass buses picking up/dropping off passengers.
Relocation of the existing bus stop and shelter from outside 234 to 244/246 Te Atatū Road. The new bus stop will be located in the T2 lane.
The signalisation of three existing zebra crossings outside 134, 210, and 250/252 Te Atatū Road.
Reconfiguration and signal optimisation of the Te Atatū Road/McLeod Road intersection.

Edmonton Road/Te Atatū Road intersection

On Edmonton Road, northbound:

Install a new short northbound T2 Lane operating 7am-10am Monday-Friday on Edmonton Road.
Retain the existing cycle lane and install new cycle lane barriers.

Te Atatū Road between Edmonton Road and Bridge Avenue

Install a new northbound T2 Lane operating 7am-10am, Monday-Friday.
Install a buffer between the southbound cycle lane and the T2 Lane. The buffer will be a mixture of raised and painted treatments to allow access to driveways.
Extend cycle lane across Jaemont Avenue intersection to 269 Te Atatū Road.
Changes to the painted central median:
- A new section of painted central median between Lyndhurst Road and Jaemont Avenue.
- A new section of painted central median between Jaemont Avenue and Covil Avenue.

Te Atatū Road/Roberts Road Intersection

Signalised intersection with pedestrian crossing provisions across all three arms, including realignment of kerbs.
Extension of existing footpath on the western side of Te Atatū Road to property boundary.
Cycle by-pass including on and off ramps in the northbound direction on the southern arm of Te Atatū Road.
Advanced cycle boxes on the approach lanes from Roberts Road and Te Atatū Road south.
Greening of the cycle lane will extend through the intersection.
Realignment of the zebra crossing across the carpark exit with a new raised zebra crossing.

Contact us

To contact us about this project email projects@at.govt.nz

FAQS

Will the T2 lane cause issues for people heading towards the Northwestern motorway or turning left onto side streets?

This plan will open an additional lane for northbound buses and T2 vehicles between McLeod Road and Edmonton Road and does not reduce capacity for other vehicles along this section. Between Edmonton Road and SH16 is congested for most of the morning peak period and repurposing the kerbside lane as far as Covil Avenue will help buses and T2 vehicles get through more efficiently without reducing capacity at the bottleneck at the SH16 interchange.

All drivers, regardless of how many people are in their vehicle, can legally use the T2 transit lane for 50m before they turn.

Traffic eligible for T2 lanes (buses, 2+ people in cars, cyclists) are a small percentage of traffic so shouldn’t the proposal prioritise cars?

Transit lanes are designed to prioritise the movement of more people. Cars can still travel in the T2 lane provided there are 2 or more occupants. Transit Lanes often carry more people than the adjacent traffic lane, but with fewer vehicles and without the queues.

Why not install a Clearway at peak times instead of T2 Lanes?

A Clearway would not cater for the growing population because it wouldn’t allow more people to travel the corridor in peak times. The capacity of Te Atatū Road is limited by the bottleneck at the SH16 interchange and congestion on SH16 and a Clearway would not reduce delays, it would just allow for queuing in two lanes instead of one. Providing travel time benefits for vehicles that carry more people will increase the capacity of the road.

Why is the bus lane operating during AM peak traffic periods (7–10AM, Monday to Friday)?

The lanes will operate during those hours because traffic is heaviest during these periods. In terms of the specific hours of operation, they have been set this way because:

Keeping the T2 lane operating beyond 9am is likely be beneficial on days where the peak traffic time extends later into the morning, such as when there is an incident on the road network.
As the population of the area, and Auckland as a whole, grows the duration of the peak periods is expected to extend out, starting earlier and finishing later. Allowing a little additional time now means that the T2 lane hours are less likely to need changing in the future.

Why are you not installing a Bus Lane or a T3 lane?

A T2 Lane is expected to benefit more people than a Bus Lane or T3 Lane and will still achieve significant travel time savings. Based on traffic and vehicle occupancy surveys of Te Atatū Road;

Northbound AM Peak: If T2 then 22% of cars and 60% of people will benefit. If T3 then only 5% of cars and 41% of people will benefit.

To provide the T2, could you remove the painted median instead of removing parking?

We looked at both options (removing parking or removing the painted median) but prefer removing the parking because:

During the operating hours of the T2 Lane there is low parking occupancy along this stretch of road (0%-25%) and there is enough spare parking on the side streets to accommodate displaced vehicles. During all other times parking will be available on the west side of the road and will be able to accommodate parking demand.
Retaining the painted median will likely be better for traffic flow, as vehicles waiting to turn into driveways will not block the traffic lane.
Retaining the painted median reduces the chances of head-on crashes, as well as rear-end crashes while vehicles wait to turn into driveways.
The painted median provides space for vehicles to pass buses dropping-off/picking-up passengers at bus stops.

ROADWORKS
When	From November 2023
Hours of work	9am to 7pm (day shift), 8pm to 5am (night shift)
Where	Te Atatū Road between McLeod Road and Covil Avenue
Duration	Approximately 6 months

Te Atatū T2 lanes Te Atatū T2 lanes

Te Atatū (South) T2 and bus priority lanes

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