Lake Road proposed right-turn ban

Transport and Roads

Lake Road proposed right-turn bans

Have your say

An image informing residents of the information evening on Tuesday, 26 August from 6pm to 9pm.

As part our upgrade of Lake Road we are planning to eliminate some right-hand turns which will affect traffic moving into or out of Rewiti Road, Napier Avenue, Ewen Street, Hart Road and Hauraki Road. We want to know what you think about these plans.

The aim is to improve traffic flow, increase the overall efficiency of this busy road, and reduce the high crash rate.

Right-turns into Lake Road are difficult and dangerous, and there are too few opportunities for drivers to turn safely. Turning vehicles slow down or block traffic, in particular the centre lane. They are also a cause of the high accident rate amongst vehicles moving into and out of side roads.

An image showing the proposed right-turn bans on Lake Rd.

Which roads are affected?
We are proposing to stop right-hand turns:

into and out of Rewiti Road
into and out of Napier Ave
out of Ewen Street into Lake Road
out of Hart Road into Lake Road
into Hauraki Road.

There is no change planned for Harley Street, Cameron Street or Jutland Street where vehicles would continue to turn in and out as they do now. There is a temporary ban on right turns into Napier Ave, due to roadworks.

How many accidents have there been?
Over the past five years there were 97 reported crashes in this area. More than half were at the intersections of Lake Road with other roads. Napier Avenue in particular has had a lot of crashes involving vehicles turning into it from Lake Road.

Turning–type accidents accounted for 58 percent of recorded crashes. This is more than two and a half times the injury / accident rate of similar roads elsewhere in the city.

How would this change affect other roads?
It will not eliminate congestion on Lake Road (which 36,000 vehicles use each day) but will produce a safer and more efficient route to accommodate a wider range of traffic activities, including better bus services and cycle lanes. One of the major goals of the entire Lake Rd upgrade is to provide people with more travel options, in safety.

The ban on right hand turns would mean more vehicles using surrounding streets, in particular Cameron Street and Harley Road. We expect it will increase the number of vehicles using Cameron Street from 240 to 430 per day, and the numbers using Harley Road from 430 to 580 per day. On average, this amounts to one vehicle every two minutes

They are large percentage increases but those streets would still have little traffic with low vehicle numbers compared to similar residential streets in the city, which have up to 3,000 vehicles using them per day. The highest hourly right-turning flow is predicted to be 32 vehicles per hour entering Harley Road.

Why prevent right-hand turns into Hauraki Road?
On-road cycle lanes are being introduced on Lake Road, and removing the right-hand turn will help with the smooth functioning of these lanes at the Hauraki / Lake intersection. Only a small number of vehicles turn right into Hauraki Rd overall, with a maximum flow of eight per hour.

However this substantially slows down traffic flows at the intersection, and reduces the rate at which vehicles can move along Lake Rd. The ban will also allow more space for traffic heading to Devonport to merge from two lanes into one, speed up traffic flow south and increase the overall efficiency of the intersection.

New turning layouts
To help drivers merge into the lane of traffic or turn right into a side street, we are installing a 'flush median' in the centre of Lake Road, painted in white stripes. This safety measure gives space to cars waiting to turn until it is clear for them to manoeuvre, without blocking through traffic.

An image explaining what the Lake Rd project will include.