Mangere Bridge suffers in traffic trial

By MATHEW DEARNALEY

Mangere Bridge residents are angry about a traffic-flow trial that they say has caused them delays of up to 45 minutes.

Transit New Zealand says overall flows have improved during its trial of an "easy merge" system of controlling access to the Southwestern Motorway by traffic lights electronically attuned to congestion.

But it acknowledges frustration among northbound Mangere Bridge residents queuing at the new lights at the Rimu St-Mahunga Drive onramp, and urges those from other suburbs to join the motorway further south.

The outsiders allegedly started "rat-running" through Mangere Bridge to loop around motorway congestion that used to extend almost as far south as the airport fork, and Transit says they have been slow to cotton on to easier flows since the trial began six weeks ago.

This has left some Mangere Bridge residents, frustrated by long delays at the onramp as traffic backs up through their township, driving more than a kilometre south to join the motorway at the tail-end of Coronation Rd before heading north towards the city centre.

Transit says the motorway's importance as the main route between Auckland City and the airport warrants the best possible level of operation, and it has prepared maps for queuing motorists.

Stagecoach, concerned about delays of eight to 12 minutes to buses getting to the motorway, is considering proposals to put to Transit to give its fleet priority.

Mangere Bridge Residents and Ratepayers' Association chairman Ken Taylor says his members are angry they were not consulted before the suburb was chosen for a trial.