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Most morning traffic along College Rd is north to south. The traffic lights where the new section of College Rd joins the old section, beside the northern boundary of the old Mt Wellington quarry, is causing a build-up for right-turning traffic, which is especially galling when there is nothing coming the other way. Could the right arrow be dispensed with? Jang Chahel, Auckland.
There was a problem with the lights which was allowing excessive green time for other activities at this intersection. The glitch has been fixed, as you've probably noticed, so that you now get more green time on the right arrow, making the turn from College Rd to Ngahue Drive much easier. The council will keep an eye on things here to make sure it's all working smoothly.
What are the plans and timetable for upgrading the interchanges at Te Atatu and Lincoln Rds on the Northwestern Motorway? When will we Westies see an improvement? Ian Miller, West Auckland.
The key word is plan, not plans. Transit's forecast for 2006-2007 to 2015-2016 provides for an upgrade of the Te Atatu westbound offramp and surrounding roads, to help relieve congestion. Design work is under way, and the project is expected to be finished by 2011. There is no such plan for Lincoln Rd, as far as I can ascertain, but the six-laning of the motorway between Te Atatu and Royal Rd is expected to help, and should reduce some of the waiting at Lincoln Rd. This, though, is some way off, with a completion date of around 2013-2014. Citybound motorway bus lanes from Te Atatu will also ease the pressure.
Is there any chance of getting a 4.30pm-6pm clearway on the eastern side of Ramp Rd on the North Shore? Traffic heading south on to Sunset Rd is forced into a single lane by parked cars, while left-turning traffic gets queued up by right-turning traffic, leaving the left turn ahead clear. Howard Edwards, North Shore.
Great minds think alike. The North Shore City Council is already in the process of putting in a clearway here, and it should be finished by early next year.
