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Fred Taylor Drive and Hobsonville Road - Bus Lanes and Other Improvements Fred Taylor Drive and Hobsonville Road - Bus Lanes and Other Improvements

Download the detailed design for this project (PDF 2.41MB)

Project Overview

By 2046, there will be nearly triple the number of people travelling along the Northwestern Motorway (SH16). More people need to travel by bus and multiple occupancy vehicles, or congestion will get worse, and journeys will take longer.

From 12 November, Auckland Transport (AT) will launch a new bus route, the Western Express (WX1), along with other significant improvements to bus routes in the area. The changes include three new bus interchanges at Westgate, Lincoln Road, and Te Atatu, approximately four kilometres of new bus lanes, and over 40 new bus stops. The Western Express will run between Westgate and the City Centre in both directions, every six to eight minutes, from 7am to 7pm, seven days a week.

As part of these changes, we want to install bus lanes along Fred Taylor Drive to give priority to buses and improve the reliability of bus services. The plan also includes changes that will increase safety for pedestrians and cyclists to enable them to access the new bus facilities safely.

Fred Taylor Dr & Hobsonville Rd bus lane drawing

Detailed project information

Fred Taylor Drive and Hobsonville Road

  • Installing bus lanes in the westbound and eastbound directions on Fred Taylor Drive. The bus lane will be on the inside lane of Fred Taylor Drive in the Massey bound direction (westbound). The existing short right turn lane into Maki Street from State Highway 16 (SH16) ramps will be extended to provide a through lane dedicated for buses. The existing traffic island will be cut back to accommodate the changes.
  • Installing a bus lane on the existing middle lane in the eastbound direction towards Hobsonville Road. The proposed bus lane will extend from the Tawhia Drive intersection to the Gunton Drive intersection. General traffic heading to Hobsonville Road and turning right onto SH16 will use the right-most lane. After the Gunton Drive intersection, general traffic will be able to utilise the right-most lane to turn onto SH16. While travelling from Tawhia Drive to Gunton Drive, general traffic can still use the left-most lane to turn left into Maki Street and Gunton Drive After Maki
  • Installing cycle lane separators on the existing cycle lanes in both directions of Fred Taylor Drive, between SH16 eastbound on ramp and Tawhia Drive.

Tawhia Drive

  • Installing a short westbound bus pocket (using the currently closed left-turn lane) to facilitate bus movement.
  • Install a second bus shelter at bus stop 5990 near the corner of Tawhia Drive and Kohuhu Lane to provide additional shelter for passengers

Fernhill Drive

  • Allowing southbound buses to go straight from the left turn lane at the intersection with Cabernet Crescent. The signal phase currently allows both left turn and through traffic to go at the same time, so no pre-emptive bus phase will be needed.
  • The traffic island at the slip lane will be cut back to allow buses to go straight through to the bus stop next to the intersection.

Project benefits

Public transport reliability – Bus services will run safely and be more punctual, making it more reliable for people trying to get around the northwestern area, and in and out of the city centre.

Climate - with public transport being a more sustainable travel option, there will be fewer cars on the road and will reduce carbon emissions.

If you want to reach out to us about the project:

Email: atengagement@at.govt.nz

What happens next

We are working on finalising the design and details of this project, based on feedback.