Whangārei priority lane will see two-hour Kamo Rd clearway parking ban

Buses heading south into Whangārei will have priority along Kamo Rd past this bus stop. Photo / Michael Cunningham

Northland’s first bus priority lane will see car parking banned from parts of Kamo Rd’s city-bound clearway for two hours during Whangārei’s morning rush hour.

The $2 million T2 lane will go from Te Kamō to Whangārei city centre. Cars carrying only one person will be banned from the lane, south along Kamo Rd, to provide morning-peak priority for buses and cars carrying at least two people towards the city.

Whangārei District Council (WDC) on Thursday confirmed the T2 lane clearway as part of its $14m package from Waka Kotahi NZTA’s Transport Choices programme. Funding has been committed for 18 projects to be carried out in the next year.

WDC general manager infrastructure Jim Sephton said everything was in place to move quickly on the priority lane, as part of the sustainable transport growth programme. The projects are aimed at encouraging different transport modes for the city.

Priority lane consultation would come next.

The new 6km bus priority lane will also see more frequent bus trips, with buses leaving for the city centre every 15 minutes rather than every half-hour.

Councillor Scott McKenzie said the morning rush hour clearway would make bus trips quicker, increasing their benefit to those considering public transport instead of cars to get to work or school.

McKenzie said bus priority lanes were common in Wellington and Auckland. They provided interesting and innovative public transport options.

Construction on the T2 lane must start by March next year, or earlier as a condition of the Transport Choices programme component of the Whangārei mahi’s funding.

The priority lane is part of $4.6m set aside from the programme for Whangārei city bus improvements. These include upgrading the city’s troubled Rose St bus terminal by replacing its toilets, shelters and ticketing buildings. The detailed design phase is the next stage of this project.

Meanwhile, major new development work will extend the Kamo shared path north and provide a number of links to locations along its route.

The Kamo shared path will be extended from Fisher Tce, where it currently ends, to Station Rd in Te Kamō.

A 50m repurposed rail bridge will be installed as part of the shared path development.

New connections from the shared path’s central spine are also to be built linking it to locations including Whau Valley School, the Whau Valley shops and Fairway Dr.

New bike facilities will also pop up in the city centre, where Whangārei will get its first secured bike parking under the new work, with $400,000 earmarked at key locations.

There will also be upgrades for the Raumanga shared path, with $1.55m spent on the section between Tarewa Park and Raumanga Reserve, and $1.4m for the stretch from Second Ave to Lovers Lane Bridge in Cafler Park. There will also be a $300,000 upgrade of the Avenues walkway around First to Third Aves.

New traffic calming is also on the radar as part of the 18 projects. The work will be funded through a combination of the transport choices programme, other Waka Kotahi NZTA funding and council rates. There will be $800,000 spent on Te Kamō west’s Clark Rd and $550,000 for Te Kamō east’s Grant, Wakelin and Boswell Streets.

Raumanga is also in for traffic calming with $950,000 for Tauroa and Fairburn Sts plus Hedley Pl.

■ Local Democracy Reporting is Public Interest Journalism funded through NZ On Air