The New Zealand Transport Agency, Environment Canterbury and Christchurch City Council are concentrating on getting traffic moving as well as improving roads and bus services to reduce road congestion in the region.
Variable speed electronic signs will begin operating on Christchurch’s Northern Motorway from Tuesday after Waitangi Weekend, 9 February, to improve traffic flows during morning peak-hour congestion.
This new signage is part of a new traffic management system for Waimakariri District commuters which will enable the setting of 60km/h speed limits during morning peak times.
“This is intended to reduce the onset of even greater delays further south along the route,” says NZ Transport Agency Regional Director Southern Region Jim Harland.
“The signs will operate when there are high volumes of traffic in the morning. Motorists brake when entering Belfast causing a ripple effect through the traffic, resulting in very slow speeds,” says Harland.
The Agency is introducing the 60km/h limit just south of Ohoka Road. This speed limit will reduce the onset of flow breakdown much earlier, and keep everyone moving to improve overall travel time.
“Avoiding unnecessary lane-changing will help smooth flows also,” says Harland.
NZTA says it is monitoring traffic flows and speeds on the Northern Motorway, and it will only apply the 60km/h speed limit will when queues begin forming during heavy traffic volumes.
Environment Canterbury is introducing some improvements to Waimakariri’s bus services to encourage more people to take the bus – these include better frequency, route coverage improvement and a new commuter service from Rangiora to Hornby, via Christchurch International Airport.
The fare zone boundary north of Kaiapoi is also being removed to make it cheaper to travel to the Waimakariri District, and cheaper to travel from Rangiora, Waikuku, Pegasus and Woodend to the city.
Waimakariri District Council is supporting these services with two Park & Ride facilities in Rangiora and Silverstream, new bus stops, local road improvements and a journey planner to inform people about their trips to Christchurch.
The Christchurch City Council is also installing bus priority lanes on Main North Road near the Chaneys off-ramp, and the NZ Transport Agency is extending the bus priority lanes on Main North Road in Belfast, between Richill and Donegal Streets.
Motorists are also being encouraged to carpool. The easy way to find a carpool match for regular commutes or one-off trips is to visit this site: www.letscarpool.govt.nz
