Nearly a year ago Auckland Transport announced plans to put cycle lanes on Carlton Gore Rd – something that created a typical backlash from locals in the area who felt they deserved a free piece of public space to store their personal possessions. Ten months later and AT have announced the results of their consultation as well as the changes in design that they’ve made. They also have said that construction will start in just two weeks on April 2 and will be completed in June.
The original proposal
Original Proposal contained the following features:
- Cycle lanes added on both sides of Carlton Gore Road between Park Road and Davis Crescent, with a half metre wide painted buffer to provide separation from traffic. Removal of Parking on the Domain side of Carlton Gore Road between Park Road and George Street will create space for the new lanes. The lanes will expand the Auckland Cycle Network, providing an improved connection from the east into the city centre and an alternative to cycling on the busier Khyber Pass Road.
- A pedestrian crossing point consisting of kerb build-outs on both sides of the road, installed at 103 Carlton Gore Road, near to the intersection with George Street. The build-outs will provide better visibility between pedestrians and traffic and shorten the crossing distance, making it safer and easier to cross.
- The zebra crossing on Carlton Gore Road repositioned to sit mid-way between the Morgan Street and Kingdon Street intersections, to increase pedestrian safety from turning traffic. Coloured surfacing and sensor-activated flashing LEDs will be installed to provide pedestrians with increased visibility. The repositioning was completed during works in 2014.
All up AT say they had 171 submissions and the majority supported the project. The key themes of the feedback are below along with AT’s response to them.
1. Separation between the traffic lane and the cycle lane was seen as insufficient. This has been improved in the final design through the use of raised kerbs on a section of the route between Park Road and George Street.
2. A reduction in parking spaces was raised as a concern. Some alternative parking spaces have been allocated for residents who lack off-street parking. Utilisation of pay and display parking on Carlton Gore Road and the surrounding streets will be monitored and prices adjusted as needed to encourage turnover. We aim to maintain an occupancy rate of around 85%, ensuring some parking is always available.
3. The design presented for consultation prevented the informal “double-stacking” of two lanes of traffic that occurs eastbound on Carlton Gore Road during the evening peak. The final design introduces a 4pm to 6pm no parking clearway westbound between George Street and Park Road. This will help maintain traffic flow, while still allowing parking at other times of the day.
They’ve also made the other changes below
- Footpaths on both sides of Carlton Gore Road between George Street and Park Road will be replaced and the road resurfaced. The area of footpath at the Park Road intersection leading into the Domain will become a shared use area for people on bikes and on foot. A drinking fountain within this area will provide a spot to pause and refuel.
- Parking on the south side of Carlton Gore Road between the George Street and Park Road intersections will change from P120 to metred pay and display parking with no time restriction, consistent with the Newmarket parking plan.
- A raised table will be installed across the intersection of George Street where it intersects with Carlton Gore Road, reducing vehicle speeds and making it easier and safer for pedestrians to cross.
- The pedestrian crossing point to be installed outside 103 Carlton Gore Road will be upgraded to a zebra crossing to better cater for people wishing to cross the road during busy times of the day.
- Flashing LEDs will not be installed on the zebra crossing between the Morgan Street and Kingdon Street intersections, as the addition of the second zebra crossing along with anti-skid coloured surfacing and cycle lane markings will be sufficient to slow most traffic. However, the crossing will be monitored and LEDs may be installed at a later date if needed.
The new design is below.
Overall there are some really positive changes in the design which is pleasing to see and something I suspect has been helped by the positive feedback the project received which again highlights the importance of submitting on this stuff. In particular it’s great that some parts of the route will now get physical protection, that George St will be safer and that there’s another pedestrian crossing.
My major concern though is still that AT are using cyclists as a squishy barrier. As an example I wonder if they could have had that new pedestrian build out (on the south side of the street just to the east of George St) as an island where the cycle lane is and left the cycle lane against the kerb using the parked cars as the physical barrier. Same with the kerb build out at Kindon St. The north side is made a bit more difficult due to the presence of the trees in the existing build outs but as they don’t seem all that large so I wonder if they too could have been moved to give the same effect.
I look forward this being completed however at only around 600m in length it’s only a small part of what’s needed. Next we need other routes that will connect and expand on this segment so we can build up an actual network of safe streets – something all international experience points to being the key to getting people cycling. With a few of the tweaks mentioned it could potentially become a template to be rolled out to streets all around the region.