Council approves more Lincoln Road changes

More peak-hour bus lanes are coming for busy Lincoln Road.

Christchurch City Council is already adding peak-hour bus lanes along the stretch of Lincoln Road between Moorhouse Avenue and Whiteleigh Avenue.

Now, after consulting with the public, it has approved a scheme design that will extend the peak-hour bus lanes from Whiteleigh Avenue through to Curletts Road.

Other changes to improve the safety of pedestrians and cyclists using Lincoln Road are also included in the project.

The Lincoln Road bus lanes will connect through to the bus lanes that Waka Kotahi is proposing to install along Halswell Road, from Curletts Road to Dunbars Road, improving the public transport network in the south-west of the city.

“With so much residential growth happening in the southwest of Christchurch, Lincoln Road has become very busy,’’ says Council Head of Transport Lynette Ellis.

“In peak periods it can become very congested. Many buses uses Lincoln Road each day but often they get caught in traffic, which slows them down and results in unreliable journey times.

“We want to improve the reliability of the buses by giving them priority at peak times. This should make going by bus a more viable and attractive option for people and help with the congestion issues,’’ Ms Ellis says.

In addition to the bus priority measures, the Council will be making safety improvements to Lincoln Road. For example, it will:

• Extend the centre raised median from Whiteleigh Avenue to Curletts Road to improve the safety of all road users.
  Create additional pedestrian crossing points.
• Put in some more u-turn bays.
• Some trees will be removed as part of the scheme design.

High-level estimates put the cost of the work at $12 million but the project should qualify for a 51 per cent subsidy from Waka Kotahi.