Parking ban in upgrade

By MATHEW DEARNALEY



Parking will be banned along about 2km of one of the region's busiest traffic routes, Glenfield Rd in North Shore City, in a $12 million widening and upgrade project.

City council works committee chairman Joel Cayford says work should start in September on the first phase of the project, between Bentley Ave and Sunset Rd, after planning approvals are obtained.

Although much of Glenfield Rd already has four lanes, it often becomes highly congested, so the council has decided to widen it to provide cycle lanes and bus priority zones at key intersections.

It has also decided to impose a 24-hour parking ban from Bentley Ave to Sunset Rd, with support from 79 per cent of 165 residents who returned questionnaires.

Planted medians are also likely to be developed to prevent right turns, although with more modest support, from 54 per cent of returns.

But the council will hold back for now on reserving lanes for high-occupancy vehicles, after opposition from about a half of all respondents, compared with support from just over one third.

Glenfield Rd attracts more than 30,000 vehicles on some days, a figure which Dr Cayford expects to increase, heightening a need for safety and capacity improvements.

The council backed off the project last year, citing budget constraints, but reinstated it after community board members voiced dismay at the holdup given the extra traffic generated by the Glenfield shopping mall and construction of the Kaipatiki bridge link from Beach Haven.