AUCKLAND CITY COUNCIL

MEDIA RELEASE

09 July 2007

New plans for bus lanes on Queen Street – your opinion counts

Auckland City Council is urging anyone who walks, cycles, drives or catches the bus into Queen Street to comment on its proposal to install dedicated bus lanes.

Under the proposal, the Queen Street bus lanes would operate 24 hours a day, seven days a week with northbound bus lanes running between Mayoral Drive and Customs Street and southbound bus lanes running between Customs Street and Karangahape Road.

Deputy Mayor, Dr Bruce Hucker says the installation of bus lanes on Queen Street would make the city more accessible for workers and students.

“More people will be encouraged to work or study in the city if it is easy to travel to. Having more workers and students spending money in the city will help retail businesses flourish,” he says.

“Anyone who has an interest in Queen Street should tell us what they think about the bus lane proposal to help us make a decision.”

Other advantages of the proposed bus lanes include:

- more efficient use of constrained CBD road space. Expanding the CBD road network is not a viable option, so passenger transport is vital in getting more people into and around the city. Fifteen buses can bring the same number of people into Queen Street as 750 cars

- greater consistency and reliability of bus journey times. A dedicated bus lane that is not congested would allow bus companies to provide more reliable services both within the CBD and also to destinations outside of the CBD

- the opportunity for passenger transport operators to provide more services. With climate change putting a focus on sustainable travel, and the likelihood of petrol tax increases for Auckland, more people are choosing to travel by bus

- a reduction in the volume of through-traffic, making Queen Street a less congested, noisy and polluted environment for pedestrians. A more pleasant street space encourages people to linger and shop.

Queen Street is currently undergoing a major upgrade to transform it into a world-class pedestrian environment. The improvements include three new signalised pedestrian crossings and increased footpath space at key locations.

While these features will enhance pedestrian safety and amenity, they will also slow down vehicle movement along the street.

The proposed bus lanes would greatly improve bus journey times and support public transport as a sustainable and efficient travel choice.

The installation of bus lanes would also contribute to the council’s aspiration for Queen Street to become more of a destination and less of a through-route for traffic. The bus lanes would provide greater opportunity to offer more city loop services like the Link and City Circuit, which provide easy access to employment, entertainment and retail destinations.

Distributor roads, such as Albert Street and the Central Connector would cater for the routes that travel through the CBD to connect regional sectors.

Under the proposal, the number of lanes available to private vehicles would be reduced from four to two. Some drivers may choose to use alternative routes through the CBD or choose to stop using their car in favour of the bus

“The council’s Urban Strategy and Governance committee will consider a summary of all public and stakeholder feedback alongside advice from council officers and specialist advisors, in order to make a decision on the proposal,” advises Dr Hucker.

Those interested in providing their comments on the bus lane proposal can:

- collect an information brochure and feedback form from Auckland City Council libraries and service centres

- visit www.aucklandcity.govt.nz/queenstreet to make a submission via an online feedback form

- request an information brochure and feedback form from the Auckland City Council contact centre on 09 379 2020.

All feedback should be submitted by 5pm on 25 July 2007.

ENDS

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