Peak time rat run to be blocked to drivers

Commuters' use of a "rat run" on traffic-choked Onewa Rd is to be blocked by the North Shore City Council on safety grounds.

About 200 motorists an hour take a circuitous detour to avoid most of Onewa Rd and the morning peak-time crawl to the Northern Motorway.

Knowing it can take up to an hour to travel along Onewa Rd, the enterprising motorists miss out most of the arterial route by travelling via Little Shoal Bay, its speed humps, and then Northcote streets to reach the eastern end of the Queen St intersection with Onewa.

Once there, instead of joining the queue waiting for the green light to turn right into Onewa Rd and head east, they turn left into Onewa Rd and go west.

But a short way up the road, they turn right across the face of oncoming stream of traffic into Nutsey Ave.

Once there they turn to come back out into the main traffic stream.

"The nerve of them makes your blood boil," said Northcote Community Board works chairman Don Graham.

"You are in the queue and you see them turn into Nutsey and then come out again and expect you to give way to let them in.

"But if you don't let them push in it will block the traffic flow."

At the request of the community board, the council has agreed to a trial ban on right-turns into Nutsey Ave and the BP Service Station at the corner of Lake Rd.

Service station staff say queue-dodgers are using their forecourt to turn before rejoining the traffic.

Council transport operations manager Tom Morton said safety was the council's main concern.

He said the reckless turning antics were placing lives at risk.

"There is a near-miss every day and it's only a matter of time before a crash results in someone being seriously injured or killed."

Mr Graham said some of the motorists would be turning right into Nutsey Ave for legitimate reasons, such as dropping children at Northcote Primary School.

"I'm sorry for them. They will suffer because of those who are trying to cheat the system."

Mr Graham said some of the motorists taking the detour were traced to as far afield as Greenhithe but they thought it worthwhile to do a 10km loop to avoid 3km of Onewa Rd.

"On a bad day they can save half an hour easily."

He suspected keen queue-dodgers would find an alternative time-saver.

The three-month trial starts on October 31 and the turning ban will be in place between 6.30am and 8.30am.

Council traffic wardens would check on motorists defying the ban while they were out enforcing the high occupancy vehicle lane.

Wardens would pass on evidence to police.