Ask Phoebe: Off-road work missing link in 12km cycleway

Emergency vehicles have an unenviable job negotiating traffic on the harbour bridge. Photo / Greg Bowker

Do you know what they are doing alongside the Northwestern Motorway between Bond St overpass and St Lukes offramp? Are they building a new lane? I noticed all the sound-deflecting walls seem to have been moved back and there is a lot of piling going on. Rendy Smith, Auckland.

No, it's not a new lane. The NZ Transport Agency is building the "missing link" - a 1.24km section of the Northwestern cycleway, which, when finished, will provide a mainly offroad 12km stretch of cycleway between Newton Rd in Auckland and Te Atatu Rd in Waitakere.

At the same time, NZTA will screen nearby homes from the motorway, and plant native trees and shrubs along the corridor.

What is the purpose of the red concrete standing areas being built along the Auckland motorways? They are on the Northwestern between Western Springs and Bond St, on the Southern just before Tip Top corner, and another just past East Tamaki. Robyn Ferguson, Auckland.

The red pads are police enforcement areas. Police can park there, or use them for speed cameras or speed lasers. NZTA also uses them for its electronic road signs when they are needed to warn drivers about conditions.

What they cannot be used for is a place to park while you take a call on your mobile.

I was travelling over the harbour bridge in medium to heavy traffic recently and saw a number of emergency vehicles in an obvious hurry, lights flashing, trying to navigate through the traffic. What is the etiquette for assisting the passage of these vehicles in this situation, since ordinarily vehicles are restricted from changing lanes on the bridge? Maria Carbines, Hillsborough.

It is, I imagine, an unenviable job trying to get across the Harbour Bridge in a hurry when there's an emergency. The only thing ordinary drivers can do is pull over as far as practicable to whichever side of the lane most other drivers are pulling over to, or move lanes, to try to create space for the emergency vehicle. I doubt that you would be penalised for changing lanes in this situation.

Westgate Drive goes from Don Buck Rd all the way to Royal Rd, or at least it's supposed to. As the road appears to be finished now, can you tell me why it's blocked off at the Royal Rd end and the Westgate end, and when will it be open all the way through? Elaine Phillips, West Auckland.

The most recent information I have on this is that the extension to Westgate Drive was built by a developer as part of the subdivision under construction.

It will become a public road when the subdivision is finished and road ownership is transferred to Waitakere City Council.

It shouldn't be far away, although the time frame is down to the developer.

Until then the road is private property and the developer can limit public access.

On Te Irirangi Rd in Botany, there is a sign that says, "All vehicles under 3500kg are prohibited... from Friday 10pm to Monday 5am with exceptions for emergency vehicles or bona fide vehicles". (This is an abridged version). What does it mean? Te Irirangi is used over the weekend by thousands of vehicles. Why the restriction? Why only on around 1km of road? It starts at the intersection with Ti Rakau and finishes down towards Manukau at about the second set of lights. There are about eight signs, white on black. I'm sure no one reads them. Paulene Murdoch, Manukau City.

Well, if they don't, they should. The signs are directed at boy racers. More specifically, they are part of a parking and traffic bylaw prohibiting vehicles under 3500kg on specified roads at certain times in response to the illegal street racing issues Manukau has faced over the years. The placement of the signs is to be reviewed next year.

This is the final Ask Phoebe column for 2009. To all the regular and irregular readers and correspondents, thank you for your questions and comments, and have a safe and happy Christmas and New Year. I'll be back in January.