Lake Road cycle lane options

Cycle lanes were approved by North Shore City Council for installation on Lake Road between Esmonde Road and Hauraki Road. The project has been in the media on numerous occasions.

Andrew Macbeth (ViaStrada) and Chris Jones (North Shore City Council) have written a conference paper about this project. The presentation was on Friday, 13 November 2009 at the 7^th NZ Cycling Conference in New Plymouth.

Abstract

Cycle lanes were approved by North Shore City Council for installation on Lake Road between Esmonde Road and Hauraki Road, a distance of about 600 m, late in 2008 but there was uncertainty about the optimal design.  ViaStrada Ltd was engaged to develop and review options for accommodating cyclists on this 23 m wide road corridor carrying about 40,000 motor vehicles per day on a four lane cross-section.

Some 18 options were developed, each with various advantages and disadvantages. They made trade-offs amongst the various competing uses of road space on Lake Rd.  These uses included pedestrians, cycles, cars, trucks and buses.  Some design options made it easier for drivers to turn right into driveways and side streets; others restricted this facility.  Some would encourage higher motor vehicle speed.  Some would feel more comfortable for cyclists; some options would provide for off-road cycling on cycle paths while others provided for cycling to be done on-street through cycle lanes.  Some options provided more space for pedestrians.  Various road surfaces and lane delineation techniques were considered.

This paper provides a comprehensive review of many potential options for balancing the needs of all road users and has lessons for cycle facility design in many situations.  In addition to reviewing the theoretical options, the paper presents the final decision made by the council, weighing up the technical preferences and the realities in terms of limited road reserve, an existing designation and constrained budgets.