The new Hawkestone Street layout is set to become permanent, with the NZ Transport Agency planning to start construction from Sunday 13 October.
The decision to make the new layout permanent follows the Wellington City Council parking consultation and positive results from a two-month monitoring period.
The Transport Agency’s Regional Transport Systems Manager Mark Owen says the new layout was introduced in March this year to address these safety and congestion issues.
“Since the new layout, travel times have been one to two minutes faster in the peak weekday flow from Murphy Street to The Terrace Tunnel off-ramp. That’s a big time saving over just a few hundred metres and it’s purely because there are fewer vehicles re-entering State Highway 1 from the Hawkestone Street southbound on-ramp.
“People may have thought they were being clever and saving time, but what they were actually doing was creating a longer commute for everyone else.”
Safety for pedestrians and cyclists on Hawkestone Street has also improved by reducing the amount of traffic using the morning detour.
“Before the new layout, up to 89 vehicles were using the shortcut during the 7-9am peak. In the last four weeks of monitoring, this has dropped to an average of five vehicles,” Mr Owen says.
Wellington City Council’s Transport and Infrastructure Manager Siobhan Proctor says they’re pleased that the new lay-out also improves safety.
“Pedestrians and cyclists who use Hawkestone Street are much safer now with less traffic using this road as their morning detour.”
Construction of the permanent layout is expected to be completed by the end of November.
To learn more and view the new layout, visit www.nzta.govt.nz/hawkestone(external link)
Plan ahead for a safe, enjoyable journey. Keep up to date with:
