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Home / New Zealand

Auckland drivers taking increasingly desperate measures to beat rush hour traffic

Michael  Neilson
By Michael Neilson
Senior political reporter, NZ Herald·NZ Herald·
22 Apr, 2018 11:54 PM4 mins to read

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Cars seen driving on the wrong side of the road to beat traffic on Merchant Ave in Te Atatu South. Video / Nick Simmons​

As the rush hour gridlock tightens, Auckland drivers are taking increasingly desperate measures to beat the traffic.

Another video has emerged of naughty Auckland drivers on the wrong side of the road to avoid queues, this time on Merchant Rd in Te Atatu South.

Six vehicles in a minute can be seen cutting the queue - some driving several hundred metres.

The vehicles include a trade van, taxi and regular cars.

Henderson-Massey local board chairman Shane Henderson said issues with public transport in the area still left commuters few options other than private cars.

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"It is alarming people are driving in a dangerous manner to avoid Te Atatu Rd.

"Te Atatu Rd has just been upgraded, but without better public transport it is not enough.

"Merchant Rd in Te Atatu and Universal Dr are similar, in that both areas are not as well served with public transport compared to most of the city.

"Traffic is huge. Locals feel they have no other options but private vehicle use. We have to change this urgently."

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Last week the Herald published an article and video showing cars crossing yellow lines on the narrow Triangle Rd, in Massey.

Another person who regularly drives along Triangle Rd, reported seeing 30 cars on the wrong side of the road in 30 minutes.

"Driving on Triangle Rd is getting worse," the witness said.

Another trick was drivers crossing the Lincoln Rd intersection, cutting through the Mobil petrol station over the road, and coming back around on the other side of the intersection.

"These drivers are going to extreme lengths to beat everybody else."

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Another Triangle Rd commuter said the problem resulted from road marking changes from the bridge to Lincoln Rd.

"The left-hand lane, which cars used to be able to use to get to the motorway lane, has been blocked off and turned into a cycle lane.

"This prevents cars using that lane and prevents those wishing to go straight ahead from doing so - thus the bottleneck and frustration."

The commuter said it could be fixed by removing the cycle lane or getting rid of the barriers preventing vehicles from using it when the traffic was heavy.

Another person on Triangle Rd said it had become "very dangerous" and noted police sometimes allowed vehicles to drive on the other side of the road to ease congestion.

However, people were now doing it when police were not there.

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"There used to be the odd 'idiot' who thought they had the right to cross the double yellow lines and drive down the wrong side.

"Since the police have allowed people to do this, the idiots are driving down the wrong side of the road pretty much from the roundabout at Waimumu Rd doing speeds close to, if not faster than 100km/h."

A commuter on Triangle Rd this morning said police were monitoring the road, and pulling over people who tried to overtake.

A police spokeswoman said they had received several complaints about "poor decisions being made by drivers on Triangle Rd".

"The road policing team, with Auckland Transport is looking at the issue and are aware of the significant congestion."

Police had tried "various solutions" to ease congestion there, but said it was still illegal to cross double yellow lines at any time.

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Auckland Transport (AT) spokesman James Ireland said despite congestion issues on Triangle Rd, the agency would not remove the cycle lanes.

"AT has to enable transport on all modes, including bus, train, ferry, walking, cycling and driving. AT advises drivers to be patient and obey the road rules."

Bus services had been improved in West Auckland in June last year, providing "more frequent services with better links to public transport", he said.

"Also, if you're travelling from West Auckland to the city centre, the Northwestern Cycleway is a great option."

Another commuter said there were similar issues in Northcote, from Lake Rd to Onewa Rd.

"This is a daily event and I have witnessed two head-on crashes."

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The T3 lane was "hardly used".

Bus and ferry were good options for commuters, but it was difficult to even get to the Birkenhead and Northcote terminals.

"Problem is, the whole of the North Shore is a gridlock so how do we get to both wharfs?"

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