Feedback is now open on Auckland Transport’s proposed design for where Great North Rd meets Bond St and Grosvenor St.
Our verdict: it’s good – and will be even better with a couple of tweaks. Be sure to have your say by Sunday 3 September!
Here’s our quick feedback guide…
- What we like – this will make the intersection safer for people on bikes.
- What we’d change – make it easier for people on bikes to turn right, especially to Bond Street, by adding a right turn pocket.
- Other comments – we think there’s space for a proper bus stop bypass.
As the next feature-length item in Auckland’s cycle infrastructure line-up edges closer to release, Auckland Transport – like any good publicist – is putting out some teaser trailers.
The Great North Road protected cycle lanes, which got enthusiastic reviews in an early screening for critics* – but one particular vignette was kept under wraps: the new intersection of Great North Road and Bond Street, in Grey Lynn.
*86% support in public consultation!
This intersection is quite busy with cars, but is also a hub for bike traffic. Across the Bond Street bridge to the south lies Kingsland, and access to the Northwestern Cycleway. To the north is the link to the new Greenways Route through the heart of Grey Lynn. To the west is the Grey Lynn Town Centre, and to the east is K Road and the city.
Whether local or passing through, a growing number of riders who have to deal with this large traffic-signalized intersection.
So, how is AT proposing to lay this out for the public? The proposal has now been released, with the plan itself here.
The key actors in this featurette are:
- On the east side of the intersection, a new combined pedestrian-and-cycle signalised crossing – for those crossing the road towards Kingsland from the Greenway on Grosvenor Street, or turning right from Great North Road into Bond Street. One mystery is how people wishing to turn right here will step out of the way of through-cyclists while waiting for the signal. Plot twist: could AT add a sneaky hiding spot for a couple of bikes – like this feature at the the coming Ngapipi signals?
- An existing signalised pedestrian crossing on the west is widened to allow bikes as well. This is for your right turns into the Grosvenor Greenway when coming from the city, or when you are crossing Great North Road towards Grey Lynn on your way back from a martini in a Kingsland bar.
- A ban on the straight through movement from Bond Street into Grosvenor Street. (While Grosvenor was already a one-way road, this change to left-turn-entry-only might be the villain of the piece for some drivers…)
- A raised eastbound cycle lane across the entry of Grosvenor (instead of the separator-protected sections elsewhere on Great North Road). The raised table at the entry will encourage vehicles to pause before crossing the path of cyclists going through towards the city.
- A new southbound contraflow cycle lane on the northbound section of Grosvenor, to allow two-way traffic for bikes into and out of Grosvenor.
- And finally, at the westbound bus stop on the southern side of Great North Road: the protected cycle lane will be raised up closer to footpath level for a section. However, this funnels cyclists along the bus-side, rather than via a bus stop detour as elsewhere on Great North Road. This seems to be the bad guy for bike people. A bus stop bypass would be a more logical plot point here, and there is space for one. Recent edit: We have just been told that due to the increase in production costs over the last couple of years (and a fixed budget), management has told the directors of this ‘movie’ to concentrate bus stop detours on higher-volume locations, like citybound. Sigh.
- Still missing is anything on Bond Street itself. We hear that the shooting budget for the Urban Cycleway Productions have increased quite a bit in recent years, and it is suspected (same as per the bus bypass above) that the extension to Kingsland had to be cut for a sequel.
So what do the critics say? Our judgement is:
“A pretty consistent piece of work by Auckland Transport directors. Despite minor flaws in the chemistry between bus and bike actors, and a lack of follow-through on the Bond Street sub-plot in this current installment, there is a lot to like here. Four out of five stars.”
What do you feel about it? Will you flock to see it – and how do you hope it will play out? Tell Auckland Transport here now (feedback closes 3 September) and consider making the following critiques:
- Support the overall concept. Good show, good show!
- Make it easy for people on bikes to turn right, especially to Bond Street, by adding a right turn pocket.
- Please consider adding a bus stop bypass – between the footpath and the proposed build-out, there’s definitely enough space.
