SH16 Northwestern motorway bus lanes

Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Agency sought feedback on the planned extensions and new bus-only lanes on SH16 to be implemented by bylaw as part of the Northwestern Bus Improvements project.

Bus lanes maximise the capacity of the road corridor, significantly improve the quality of public transport along a route and improve operational efficiency.

Where required they can also act as an emergency stopping area, providing a safe place drivers can pull into if their vehicle gets into trouble while keeping traffic flowing smoothly.

Bus lanes provide a fast, reliable congestion-free travel option and we need to ensure Police can enforce the correct regulations when they need to.

Northwestern Bus Improvements is a joint Auckland Transport (AT) and Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Agency project to deliver a range of short-term bus improvements over the next five years to support growth in the region. The project will deliver more reliable bus journeys with improved connections locally and into the city centre.

Northwestern Bus Improvements(external link)

As part of this project, the existing bus-only lanes will be extended on the Northwestern Motorway (SH16) between Westgate and Newton Road.

The specific changes that need to be gazetted into the Bylaw are:

• Extensions to existing bus-only lanes.
• Extensions to existing emergency stopping lanes (needed to ensure that traffic is not permitted to drive in the bus-only lanes outside of their hours of operation).

The proposed changes are outlined in the maps below.

Submissions closed on Monday 19th December 2022.

Proposed changes

Map 1

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Map 2

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1. Royal Road to Hobsonville Road westbound. Existing bus-only lane extended closer to Hobsonville Road.
2. Royal Road to Lincoln Road eastbound. Existing bus-only lane extended onto Lincoln Road off-ramp.
3. Te Atatu Road to Lincoln Road westbound. Existing bus-only lane extended on the Te Atatu Road on-ramp.
4. Patiki Road to Rosebank Road eastbound. Existing bus-only lane extended closer to the Patiki Road off-ramp.
5. Rosebank Road to Patiki Road westbound. Existing bus-only lane extended closer to the Patiki Road on-ramp.
6. Patiki Road to Rosebank Road to eastbound. Existing bus-only lane extended closer to the Rosebank Road on-ramp.
7. Rosebank Road to Patiki Road westbound. Existing bus-only lane extended closer to the Rosebank Road off-ramp.
8. St Lukes Road eastbound. New length of bus-only lane between St Lukes off and on-ramps.
9. St Lukes Road to Newton Road eastbound. New length of bus-only lane.
10. Newton Road to St Lukes Road westbound. New length of bus-only lane.
11. Patiki Road to Te Atatu Road off-ramp. Existing westbound bus-only lane removed to tie in with new  off-ramp lane configurations and the new bus interchange.
12. The causeway eastbound. Existing bus-only lane shortened to improve the Rosebank Road on-ramp merge.

A. Patiki Road to Te Atatu Road off-ramp. Existing westbound bus-only lane removed to tie in with new off-ramp lane configurations and the new bus interchange.

B. The causeway eastbound. Existing bus-only lane shortened to improve the Rosebank Road on-ramp merge.