Great North Road Dynamic Bus Lane Congestion Improvements

Consultation has concluded

Consultation Outcome  

Earlier this year we proposed to add a dynamic lane to the northbound section of Great North Road between Blockhouse Bay Road and SH16 through Waterview with the aim of improving congestion at peak morning times.

When the consultation closed, the project team re-evaluated the traffic data. The more recent data showed that traffic congestion was not increasing at the rate forecasted in earlier assessments. As such, the urgency for an intervention to reduce congestion impacts along the stretch of Great North Road decreased.

For this reason, the implementation of a dynamic lane at the proposed location will be deferred and congestion levels will continue to be monitored going forward. If congestion reaches a higher threshold on Great North Road in the future, Auckland Transport will review the design proposed for this location once again. Any proposal to implement a dynamic lane at this location in the future will undergo community consultation.

Community feedback 

We asked members of the community to give feedback on the proposal by completing an online survey or speaking to us directly at drop-in session held in Avondale Community Centre. We received 159 online survey responses, two group submissions and seven emailed submissions. A petition was also submitted signed by 75 residents.

To read about the community feedback in depth, including all concerns, benefits and suggestions please refer to the full community feedback report here. The report also includes Auckland Transport's response to the community feedback.

• Community feedback summary report

About the project 

To improve congestion during peak morning times on Great North Road between Blockhouse Bay Road and State Highway 16 we proposed to add a dynamic lane to the northbound section of Great North Road between Blockhouse Bay Road and SH16 through Waterview (approximately 950m).

A dynamic lane allows for lanes to have different uses at different times. To enable the dynamic lane, the flush median would become an additional general vehicle lane. This means that vehicles turning right into (or out of) Oakley Avenue, Alverston Street or Fairlands Avenue between 6am - 10am would need to travel one block further to Fir Street, Alford Street or Herdman Street as these will have traffic lights and turning lanes available.

Why we proposed it 

General traffic travel times were up to 3 times longer in peak traffic along this stretch of Great North Road compared to off peak (increasing from 2.5 minutes up to 6.5 minutes). Impacting vehicles and buses which experience delays and struggle to stick to their timetables throughout the bus route.

Dynamic lanes are a smart solution to improving the efficiency of roads at a lower cost without having to build more roads or widen them. Dynamic lanes have already been successfully implemented on Whangaparāoa Road and Redoubt Road.

Benefits of the proposal

• Improved traffic congestion for all road users.
• Buses would be more reliable, and journey times would be shorter.
• A new safe signalized pedestrian crossing in the middle of the block between Fairlands Avenue and Blockhouse Bay Road.