Main North Road bus priority

1. Bus improvements - helping the buses run on time

• A full time bus lane running north from Harewood Road to Grassmere Street.
• At the Main North Road/Sawyers Arms Road intersection bus improvements will get buses through the intersection from the kerbside lane to access the bus lane north of the intersection.
• Extension to the operating times of the part-time bus lane to the city between Mary Street and Horner Street so it operates in the afternoon as well. The new times will be 7am – 9am and 2pm – 6pm.
• The full time bus lane running to the city from Halliwell Avenue to Mary Street will remain.

2. Bus stop improvements

• On the north side a new larger bus shelter will be located outside the Mobil service station.
• On the city bound side, a new double length bus stop will replace the single stop near Age Concern, heading towards the city.

3. Walking and biking improvements

•  A new signal-controlled pedestrian crossing will be added on Main North Road on the Westpac side of the intersection with Langdons Road and Mary Street.
• The crossing distance at Winston Avenue will be reduced for people walking.
• The bus lanes are for cyclists to use as well as the buses.

• Six new street trees will be planted outside Northlands Shopping Centre and some landscaping improvements are to be installed at the Mary Street corner. There will also be a new tree, cycle parking and seating on Winston Avenue at the intersection of Main North Road.

4. Changes to car parks

• To be able to fit the bus lanes and bus stops in, a reduction in car parking is needed. There is available parking behind the businesses on Main North Road for customers to use, and we will be improving signage to direct drivers to this off-street parking.

Heading north

• Nine car park spaces will be removed to allow for the bus lane running north between Harewood Road and Winston Avenue. There will be new short term parking (P5) installed on Winston Avenue
• Seven car parks will be removed to allow for the extended bus lane and bus stops between Winston Avenue and Langdons Road.

Heading towards the city

• Six car park spaces will be removed between Loftus Street and Horner Street to allow for the extended bus stop

5. Improving traffic flow and safety

To help improve general traffic flow and safety on Main North Road we are proposing the following changes:

Langdons Road

• To help traffic exiting Langdons Road, a new left turn lane is proposed from Langdons Road onto Main North Road.

Changes to Grassmere Street’s intersection with Main North Road are required and there are two options proposed:

Option A: 

To provide the desirable bus journey time improvements, it is proposed to install a traffic island which will prevent right turns into or out of Grassmere Street but will allow drivers to turn left into and left out of onto Main North Road.

Option B: 

Install new traffic lights on Grassmere Street which will allow drivers to turn right out and left in and out of Grassmere Street. The compromise with this option is that drivers cannot turn right into Grassmere Street from Main North Road, there is not enough road space. They will need to do this from Papanui Road and Main North Road instead.

Option A key features

Option A

• Bus journey times in either direction are unaffected.
• Vehicle journey times on Main North Road in either direction are unaffected.
• Drivers wanting to turn right out of Grassmere Street will be unable to do so and will need to use Mary Street instead.
• Drivers wanting to turn right into Grassmere Street will be unable to do so and will need to use other street entrances such as from Papanui Road and Main North Road to access Grassmere Street.
• No changes to parking in this section.
• Lower cost option.

Option B key features:

Option B

• Traffic lights will allow for drivers to turn right out of Grassmere Street. This will hold Main North Road traffic. Buses will share the general traffic lane.
• To help keep traffic and buses moving, a left turn lane into Grassmere Street will be needed so that left-turning vehicles do not block the through lane. To allow for this left-turn lane, south-side parking would be reduced from seven to two spaces.
• Grassmere Street traffic can turn right on a short green signal, so they can get out safely, while limiting disruption to traffic flow on Main North Road.
• Drivers wanting to turn right into Grassmere Street will be unable to do so as there is not enough room for a right-turn bay. They will need to use other street entrances such as from Papanui Road and Main North Road to access Grassmere Street.
• Higher cost option.