Auckland Transport installs cycle lane, worsening black spot, North Shore locals say

Thursday, 19 April 2018

Residents on Browns Bay Rd are waiting for a head-on collision, after the installation of an uphill cycle lane added to the dangers on a notorious S-bend.

Day or night, when Sandra Wakeford hears a loud bang, she wonders whether it is another car crash: now she says a newly built cycle lane risks endangering even more lives.

Wakeford has attended so many crashes over the past 30 years on the notorious stretch of Browns Bay Rd, on Auckland's North Shore, she has lost count.

'I have a hi-vis jacket, a torch, a flag, a blanket and a first aid kit at the front door. I'm not the only person in the stretch of road who is like that.'

In the past five years, Auckland Transport says 20 crashes have occured, causing one minor and one serious injury. However, one resident says there have been far more: 'If police aren't needed, crashes aren't reported.'

After Auckland Transport installed an uphill cycle lane in April, the camber of the road, combined with narrower lanes, sharper corners and speed were seeing vehicles either travel over the flush median or into the cycle lane, endangering cyclists, Wakefore said..

READ MORE:

The camber of Browns Bay Rd, combined with narrower lanes, sharper corners and motorists' speed are seeing vehicles either travel over the flush median or into the cycle lane after it was installed in early April.

*** Furious residents ask why notorious Auckland road hasn't had upgrade in more than a decade

* Vehicle goes down bank off Albany Expressway on Auckland's North Shore

Browns Bay Rd residents Sandra Wakeford and Tim Erp have car-crash like kits at the ready for crashes. Wakeford has been the first responder to so many over the past 30 years she has lost count.

* Family mourns mother killed by car on Auckland's North Shore

* Pedestrian killed after being hit by car on Auckland's North Shore**

After residents and road users raised concerns about Browns Bay Rd, East Coast Bays MP Erica Stanford watched traffic for over an hour on April 14. She says a serious crash is inevitable, courtesy of the new road layout changes.

In the past five years, Auckland Transport said 20 crashes had occurred, causing one minor and one serious injury. However, Wakeford said there had been far more: 'If police aren't needed, crashes aren't reported.'

Mark Hannan, Auckland Transport's media relations manager, said the cycle lane project was ongoing, and improved signage, cat's eyes, additional green marking and an electronic 'slow-down' sign would be installed in May.

Browns Bay Rd residents Sandra Wakeford and Trevor Bevan want to see efforts made to slow down the traffic, but ultimately want to see the camber of the road adjusted. They say it could save a life.

Residents, however, ultimately wanted to see the camber of the road adjusted, in order to possibly save someone's life.

'It's everyone's safety we're concerned about. I don't want to see anyone injured here,' Wakeford said.

The stretch of Browns Bay Rd between Knights Rd and Beach Rd had left Wakeford and her neighbours being first responders.

Wakeford's neighbour, Tim Erp, said he was on a first name basis with staff at *555 and, like Wakeford, had a high-visibility jacket, first-aid kit and a fire extinguisher at the ready.

'I'm scared a car will go through the barrier or between the barrier and end up on the roof of my house.'

Their neighbour, Trevor Bevan, who had lived on the road since 1982 and seen the retaining wall outside his house hit multiple times, said getting in and out of his driveway had become more of a risk.

'I'm conscious there's someone likely to come up behind me.'

Concerned with everyone's safety, Wakeford contacted Andrew Allen, Auckland Transport's chief transport operations officer, and met with East Coast Bays MP Erica Stanford, who likened the changes to 'a perfect storm'.