Getting Dominion Road moving

This project is now open for feedback until 25th May 2025, click here to have your say.

Dominion Road is one of Auckland’s busiest roads, carrying over 32,000 people to and from the city centre every day.

This road is already squeezed for space, with only enough space for two lanes each way.

To keep up with the city’s growth and address the congestion that comes with this growth, we need to ensure our roads can move more people throughout the day. Our approach to making the best use of our roads is guided by the Room to Move strategy, which outlines our plan to deal with roads that are struggling to cope with the wide variety of demands placed on them.

Around 7,500 passengers ride a bus through Dominion Road each day, with 3,000 of these people tagging on at stops along this road.

This important route runs up to 29 buses (bus no. 25L, 25B, 252 & 253) per hour in both directions, making it essential for the community’s travel needs.

To improve the efficiency, safety, and flow of traffic, we are proposing a series of changes that are low cost and can be implemented relatively quickly with minimal construction disruption.

We want your feedback on these proposed improvements.

Why are we making these changes?

Dominion Road carries over 32,000 people daily, with significant delays observed during:

These improvements make small but impactful adjustments to the road to ease congestion and help:

What’s proposed

We have studied Dominion Road and found some changes that could be made right now to make better use of the existing road space, to create safer places cross for pedestrians, and keep people, cars and buses moving safely and more efficiently.

1. Dominion Road bus lane operating hour change (between Richardson Road and Charles Street)

Our data shows that more people are using Dominion Road between 3–4pm than in previous years, with the afternoon peak starting earlier and lasting longer. Carrying over 32,000 people daily, Dominion Road is a key bus route with growing delays—up to 6 minutes in the morning and 8 minutes in the afternoon. While the 4–7pm bus lane has improved bus travel during peak times, increasing congestion from 3pm, especially from school traffic and people working flexible hours, is now causing delays before the bus lane begins.

Proposed changes include:

2. Memorial Avenue/ Dominion Road intersection

This intersection gets very busy, especially at peak times. In the morning, northbound (towards the city) traffic backs up from Mt Albert Road, and in the afternoon, southbound (away from the city) traffic backs up from Denbigh Avenue. These queues often block the Memorial Avenue intersection. Bus lanes end before the intersection, so buses get stuck in the same traffic as other vehicles.

Proposed changes include:

3. Wiremu Street/Dominion Road intersection

This area often gets congested because the road is narrow, there’s lots of activity along the sides, and its proximity close to two nearby sets of traffic lights (the Dominion Road / Balmoral Road intersection and a mid-block crossing near Rockfield Road). Turning in and out of Wiremu Street and Dominion Road also causes delays in both directions as vehicles can build up waiting for the vehicle to turn.

Proposed changes include:

4. George Street/View Road/Dominion Road intersection

This intersection experiences heavy traffic, especially during the afternoon peak period. Our observations have shown that southbound (heading away from the city) afternoon peak queues tend to originate from the Dominion Road / Valley Road intersection, often extending through the View Road intersection.

In the morning peak, the View Road / George Street intersection slows traffic because of its staggered layout causing inefficient signal timing. It’s a bottleneck for northbound (heading to the city) traffic and often makes it hard for buses to change lanes to turn right into View Road.

Proposed changes include:

Have your say

Have your say on these proposed changes and help us get the most out of Dominion Road and get everyone moving, click here.

Public consultation is open from 28 April 2025 until-25 May 2025. Have your say online, at a local drop-in session, or by emailing ATengagement@at.govt.nz

About the Network Optimisation Programme

This programme is about making the best use of what we already have. By fine-tuning traffic signals, adjusting lanes, and reallocating space, we can deliver quick, cost-effective improvements that make a real difference—without building new roads.