Peak hour bus lanes will be installed along Lincoln Road and Moorhouse Avenue to make journey times shorter and more reliable for public transport users.

Christchurch City Council has today agreed to introduce bus priority measures on the two busy roads.

“By introducing peak hour bus lanes we expect to improve the reliability of bus journey times and reduce average bus trip times by about six-and-a-half minutes in the evening peak and four-and-a-half minutes in the morning peak,’’ says Council Head of Transport Richard Osborne.

“That should make going by bus a more attractive option for people. The southwest of Christchurch is growing fast, with 35,000 people expected to move into that area over the next 30 years.

“That’s going to result in more cars on the road and congestion problems unless we make travelling by public transport faster and more reliable,'' Mr Osborne says.

Buses are currently scheduled to travel along Lincoln Road every 15 minutes but during the morning and afternoon peak, the road often becomes congested and buses get stuck in slow-moving traffic, which means they often run late.

Under the $4 million plan approved by the Council today, bus lanes will be installed on both sides of Lincoln Road, between Moorhouse Avenue and Whiteleigh Avenue. The bus lanes will operate week days between 7am and 9am, for the city-bound journey, and between 4pm and 6pm for the Halswell-bound journey.

A bus lane will also be installed on the south side of Moorhouse Avenue, between Selwyn Street and Lincoln Road. This bus lane will only operate between 4 and 6pm.

The speed limit on Lincoln Road, between Moorhouse Avenue and Whiteleigh Street, will  be reduced to 30kmh and a new traffic light-controlled pedestrian crossing installed by Addington Village so that people accessing the area’s popular bars, cafes, and restaurants can get across the road safely.

It is anticipated that work on the bus priority measures will begin in early 2020. The work is expected to take about six months to complete but it will be done in stages to minimise the impact on local businesses.