Traffic flow in Whangarei frustrates daily commuters

Traffic flow in Whangarei can be frustrating in the mornings. PHOTO/NZME

Sitting in a slow moving queue of traffic gives you time to think.

After getting stuck for the fourth time in as many days last week in what seems to be worsening Whau Valley Rd queues, I did wonder what the point of a green light was if a vehicle can't move because the road in front is already jammed.

The intersection of Whau Valley Rd and Kamo Rd is a mess between 8.10 and 8.45 each morning.

A few km east and the traffic coming down what we call "Tikipunga Hill" into Whangarei isn't much better either.

Two arterial routes that both flow toward recently completed (separate sets of) roadworks that have done little to speed up traffic flow.

Last year when the Nixon St/Kamo Rd intersection was finally finished, there was an assumption on many motorists' part, that crawling into town along Kamo Rd from Kamo would be a thing of the past.

The roadworks' completion seem to have done little to aid the flow.

The volume of traffic pouring out of Kamo in the mornings gets slowed because of the sheer number of vehicles.

There are too many cars and the light phasing means the 50m between Kamo Rd/Whau Valley Rd lights and the State Highway 1/Kamo Rd lights 50m away is easily jammed up.

The pattern in the right hand lane of the Whau Valley Rd section of the intersection with Kamo Rd is thus: Green light - four to six cars move through.

Red light stop. Green light - one or two maximum make it onto Kamo Rd. And so on and so on.

In 20 minutes this week I travelled about 100m. I am not holding out much hope that the Western Hills Dr roundabout a kilometre or so south will help traffic flow improve when it is finished - partly because the superannuation age will be 67 before the last loose road chip is swept up and that thing is finished.

Perhaps it is time to accept that it is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than it is for a motorist to enter Whangarei at less than an average of 10km an hour on a week day morning between 8.10 and 8.45.

Although any Aucklander reading this will laugh if they have moved north recently to escape losing two or three hours of their lives every day in that city's traffic.

The problem is solvable by the way - I need to get up 10 minutes earlier.

Although by the time I retire (hopefully no later than age 65) will I be saying "I'm glad I don't have that daily 60 minute drive from Whau Valley to town any more".