Ask Phoebe: Road markings a cycle safety trial

The new street symbols have been used overseas to help mark cycling routes.

Signs painted on roadway at five Auckland locations designed to enhance road-sharing.

There are some road markings in the shape of bicycle symbols that have appeared on the road surface on Seacliffe Ave and Hamana St in Devonport. Each bicycle shape is capped by two chevrons. They are in both lanes, east and west. Who put them there, what do they mean, who are they intended for and what legal status do they have as road markings? Is the meaning the same if I am in a car or on a bike? Shaun Bowler, Devonport.

The cycle lane markings are called sharrows, in a new trial undertaken by Auckland Transport (AT). The trial will take place at five Auckland locations:

Elstree Ave and Taniwha St roundabout, Glen Innes; Hamana St, Seacliffe Ave and Winscombe St, Belmont; Pt Chevalier Rd, Pt Chevalier; Riddell Rd, Glendowie; and Riverside Ave and Dunkirk Rd, Pt England.

The distinctive stencil-style road markings have been used overseas to improve cyclist safety and promote better road-sharing. Sharrows indicate a shared-lane environment for cyclists and motorists. They help to position cyclists on the street for better visibility and clear of hazards such as car doors. They can also be used to mark routes for cyclists to use.

AT will video the different trial locations, as part of a review of road user behaviour. With user surveys, this will help determine whether they introduce sharrows in other locations. Public submissions closed on January 31.

Can you discover why work has stopped on the cover for the Totara Park Equestrian Centre? It's about halfway covered and has been for several months. The materials to finish the job are lying around the site but no one appears to be working on it. It was started well before last Christmas and work progressed at a great rate then stopped. Anthony Margetts, Manukau.

It seems there is a funding shortfall. On the Totara Park Riding for the Disabled website tinyurl.com/mdaktdn the total cost of the building project is given as $930,000, of which $498,000 has yet to be found.

On Prime TV, in the top right-hand corner of the screen, there is the Prime logo, with Glasgow 2014 underneath. Why is this, as NZ is at the other end of the globe? Hans Schramm, Auckland.

It is because the 2014 Commonwealth Games are to be held in Glasgow in July-August, and Sky Television (and thus Prime) has scored the New Zealand broadcast rights to the games.

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Do you have a question for Phoebe? It can be about transport or any Auckland issue. Email askphoebe@nzherald.co.nz