Get moving: City bus lanes not limited to buses

Q: Please clarify the difference between bus lanes in the city and bus lanes on a motorway? John Smith, Auckland.

A: In the city, buses, motorcycles and bicycles can use bus lanes. On motorways, only buses may use the bus lanes (often emergency stopping shoulders at other times) between the designated times.

Q: I travel along Highbrook Drive in East Tamaki to get to work, and there seems to be a Mexican standoff between motorists turning right from Ra Ora Drive into Highbrook and those turning right from Highbrook into Ra Ora. The road code says give way to the right, but lots of motorists don't seem to understand this. Would the council consider putting a Give Way sign on Ra Ora Drive? Carol Hickman, Weymouth.

A: The law does indeed say give way to the right, and so those turning right into Ra Ora need to give way to those turning right from Ra Ora into Highbrook. Bruce Conaghan of Manukau City, who like me cannot understand how some people get their driver's licences, says that the council will put a Give Way sign on Ra Ora to stop the confusion, and it will be done sooner rather than later.

Q: It seems to me that the main problem heading north on the Northern Motorway is at Tristram Ave where the motorway narrows to two lanes. Are there plans to extend the three-laning? Garry Kirkbride, Torbay.

A: There are. An extra lane between Northcote and Sunnynook is on the plans and should be finished by 2007.

Q: The lights at the corner of Ayr St and Parnell Rd seem to have taken on strange phasing since the new lights were installed, and it has been suggested that they are operated manually. Are they? Michael Lorimer, Remuera

A: The phasing on this corner operates on demand. As the demand increases, so does the length of the green phase in that direction until it reaches its limit. However, it's the staggered layout at this intersection that makes the phasing look strange and not any manual intervention.

BOUQUETS

Lady Ruby Drive in East Tamaki now has a clearway in the mornings and evenings, courtesy of Manukau City Council.

The diagonal lines to indicate a pedestrian crossing at the corner of Ponsonby and Richmond Rds have now been removed by council workers. They were overlooked when the lights were changed.