As those who commute there daily will know, work has finally started to fix the cycle lanes on Triangle Road on the approach to Lincoln Road.
For cyclists commuting from the west of Auckland, it’s a daily hassle and danger – a dedicated cycle lane, built extra wide to make riding uphill easier. And full of cars. Every morning for over a year, motorists have been illegally using the cycle lane to queue while waiting to get onto the Northwestern Motorway at Lincoln Road.
Even improved signage and (some limited) police enforcement have done nothing to change the fact that the cycle lane was often blocked for hundreds of meters. This highly unsafe situation (with several cyclist crashes caused by motorists reported to us, at least one with injuries) was untenable, and CAA has been pushing for change here for a long time now.
The process was, to say the least, frustrating. Various attempts to mitigate the issue with measures – like larger signage – have failed to make any impression. Project difficulties and the locals’ wish to retain most or all of the on-street parking on the southern side pushed out the delivery timeframe for Auckland Transport’s proposed infrastructure upgrade several times.
But it seems that the time is finally at hand for Triangle Road cyclists to be given a safe space. Auckland Transport has confirmed that works to install separation delineators between the cycle lane and the motorist lanes are on track for completion in April. Further, some minor road widening is also included to provide more queue space for motorists – so reducing their desire to enter the cycle lane in the first place, in addition to the new delineators. CAA hopes that this will finally end this issue, and provide a much better outcome for cyclists.
Auckland Transport are also investigating the potential use of delineators in other parts of Auckland where motorists often encroach into cycle lanes, such as in Clark Street West (New Lynn), and on some new roads to be constructed as part of the AMETI projects.
