Auckland traffic wtf how does one cope

Forums › Transport (cars, bikes and boats) › Auckland traffic wtf how does one cope

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5288 posts

Uber Geek

#1485042 4-Feb-2016 09:44

Benoire:

I have a nice fancy car in the drive but I can PT everywhere, easier, less stressful and during peak is just as slow until I get to the train station then its weee on a dedicated right of way. If you think Auckland driving is bad, try London... That is terrible, I used to spend hours moving at 2-3 mph.

Funny, i thought london was better than auckland.

nzkc

1571 posts

Uber Geek

#1485098 4-Feb-2016 11:31

MikeB4: As a diversion, Shakespeare Park is spectacular

It is. Also check out Wenderholm and Mahurangi. Especially check out Mahurangi if you've got access to a boat/kayak/paddleboard.

RUKI

1402 posts

Uber Geek

#1485194 4-Feb-2016 13:48

MikeB4: Did the Toll road north today, that is a great bit of roading with cool tunnels and an awesome bridge over it

My 3 cents into that "awesomeness":

- The guy who was engaged in building that tonnel and bought "house close to work" in Puhoi - now travels 68 km to work in CBD getting up from his bed before sunrise :-(

- There was a huge traffic jam last weekend before that tonnel going north - If I knew - I would rather go via Orewa :-(

- They do not have vending machines anymore to pay for the Toll and "conveniently" charge you $1.20 (@ BP) on top of your $4.6 for the round trip - that is 26% mark up!!! :-(

shk292

2853 posts

Uber Geek

Lifetime subscriber

#1485264 4-Feb-2016 15:37

RUKI:

MikeB4: Did the Toll road north today, that is a great bit of roading with cool tunnels and an awesome bridge over it

My 3 cents into that "awesomeness":

- The guy who was engaged in building that tonnel and bought "house close to work" in Puhoi - now travels 68 km to work in CBD getting up from his bed before sunrise :-(

- There was a huge traffic jam last weekend before that tonnel going north - If I knew - I would rather go via Orewa :-(

- They do not have vending machines anymore to pay for the Toll and "conveniently" charge you $1.20 (@ BP) on top of your $4.6 for the round trip - that is 26% mark up!!! :-(

I think there was always a payment surcharge for the coin payment machines, and there is a higher one for paying by phone. I could never understand people queuing up to pay at those machines when payment by www is free - I always thought they should have hitching rails for horses next to those payment machines ;-)

MikeAqua

7773 posts

Uber Geek

#1485305 4-Feb-2016 16:11

I cope with Auckland traffic as follows: -

-Not living in Auckland (this is my main strategy).

-When I go to Auckland I generally don't take a car. Auckland's CBD is very enjoyable without a car.

-On the rare ocassions that I must use a car in Auckland, or I'm stuck on a slow moving bus I try to see the congestion as a reminder of how lucky I am to live in a small town.

Mike

RUKI

1402 posts

Uber Geek

#1485720 5-Feb-2016 10:28

shk292

I could never understand people queuing up to pay at those machines when payment by www is free ...

That is a "tunnel" vision onto the bigger picture:

- Stretching your legs is the main reason one would make a stop at that service station prior to the Toll road section going up North.

- Some people do not use online banking, so online payment for the Toll is not practical for them.

shk292

2853 posts

Uber Geek

Lifetime subscriber

#1485745 5-Feb-2016 10:44

RUKI:

shk292

I could never understand people queuing up to pay at those machines when payment by www is free ...

That is a "tunnel" vision onto the bigger picture:

- Stretching your legs is the main reason one would make a stop at that service station prior to the Toll road section going up North.

- Some people do not use online banking, so online payment for the Toll is not practical for them.

I was more referring to the southbound machines in the layby with nothing else

My quip about hitching rails was aimed exactly at those people who don't have online banking or "don't have access to the internet"

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deadlyllama

1260 posts

Uber Geek

Trusted

#1485758 5-Feb-2016 11:04

muppet:

You think to yourself "This is only temporary, I'm not going to get angry and this" then you sell up and move to Napier where it's always sunny and there's bugger all traffic.

I moved to Whanganui from Wellington. Rush minute is awful. When I cycle to the office waiting for the traffic lights adds FORTY PERCENT to my five minute journey.

turnin

509 posts

Ultimate Geek
Inactive user

#1485842 5-Feb-2016 12:09

If you had a business with a systemic fault that caused it to grind to a halt , twice a day, would you fix it or just accept it.

I hate Auckland only because of the traffic and the attitude that more roads will fix it.

More roads , wider roads, more lanes , more lights etc wont fix the traffic issue.

The traffic issue is caused by a 1:1 car:passenger ratio and hesitation at intersections that are often far removed from the actual motorways.

Autonomous cars will in time help as will dynamic carpooling but the main factor is going to be ( in the short term) public transport or in the longer term a system the reuses cars. Whereby cars will be rented instead of owned, this will also free up a significant proportion of cbd space, every car that heads into town is parked, all day on 8-10 sqm of concrete.

What a waste

Rikkitic

Awrrr
18657 posts

Uber Geek

Lifetime subscriber

#1485891 5-Feb-2016 13:36

shk292:

My quip about hitching rails was aimed exactly at those people who don't have online banking or "don't have access to the internet"

I don't have Internet banking. It is a considered decision based on my personal circumstances, not a lack of technical insight. I do have access to the Internet.

Plesse igmore amd axxept applogies in adbance fir anu typos

RUKI

1402 posts

Uber Geek

#1487892 9-Feb-2016 10:13

shk292:

My quip about hitching rails was aimed exactly at those people who don't have online banking or "don't have access to the internet"

Suddenly reminded me about joke when twin brothers (one is ultimate pessimist and another is bubling optimist) were given birthday presents:

pessimist (to please him, as he always was grumpy) was given a wooden horse, and optimist (he is happy anyway, so why being bothered) was put a pile of horse stuff under his bed.

In the morning:

- Pessimist: "what? a wooden horse? I wanted alive one ....:-("

- Optimist: "be jealous mate, I have alive one, it just run away :-)"

This morning traffic in Greenlane, Auckland was not that bad at all - I was one of the first few in the office and even finding free parking in the CBD was not difficult...

trig42

5809 posts

Uber Geek

ID Verified

#1487927 9-Feb-2016 10:32

RUKI:

shk292:

My quip about hitching rails was aimed exactly at those people who don't have online banking or "don't have access to the internet"

Suddenly reminded me about joke when twin brothers (one is ultimate pessimist and another is bubling optimist) were given birthday presents:

pessimist (to please him, as he always was grumpy) was given a wooden horse, and optimist (he is happy anyway, so why being bothered) was put a pile of horse stuff under his bed.

In the morning:

- Pessimist: "what? a wooden horse? I wanted alive one ....:-("

- Optimist: "be jealous mate, I have alive one, it just run away :-)"

This morning traffic in Greenlane, Auckland was not that bad at all - I was one of the first few in the office and even finding free parking in the CBD was not difficult...

This morning, people were stuck on the Southern Carpark because a truck with a badly secured load spilled glass and plastic all over the motorway just before Greenlane. nearly 2 hours from Papakura to CBD. A little hard to be optimistic if you are stuck in that (luckily I wasn't but someone in our office was).

bmt

574 posts

Ultimate Geek

#1488448 9-Feb-2016 23:03

I get on the motorway at Ellerslie-Panmure and was lucky enough to see a Google notification that the morning commute was extra long today, then saw an article about that crash so detoured and got on the motorway at Greenlane. Traffic was surprisingly light..

On another note, I drove from Tauranga to Hamilton at about 2pm on Monday and then onward to Auckland at 5:30pm. Both journeys were very light despite reading a Herald article stating traffic would be appalling and I was driving in the middle of the worst possible times. I do Auckland-Hamilton-Auckland every 2-3 weeks and it was the fastest return journey I've ever had. So, so strange considering it was a long weekend. The trip down on Friday night (approx 6pm) was appalling up to South Auckland, traffic thinned out a lot before the turn off to Coromandel.. was it just everybody who lives in South Auckland going home at the same time?? Really don't get traffic sometimes.

And on a final note re the toll roads, I would much rather stop, get out and pay at a booth than have to use the utter abortion that is the NZTA toll website. Just signed up for an account yesterday.. whoever designed that website should never be employed in that line of work again. Just wow.

dickytim

2514 posts

Uber Geek
Inactive user

#1489701 10-Feb-2016 12:50

Start and finish early.

Really it suits my lifestyle as I can get home to my horse before dark and ride.

trig42

5809 posts

Uber Geek

ID Verified

#1489723 10-Feb-2016 13:27

bmt:

snip

So, so strange considering it was a long weekend. The trip down on Friday night (approx 6pm) was appalling up to South Auckland, traffic thinned out a lot before the turn off to Coromandel.. was it just everybody who lives in South Auckland going home at the same time?? Really don't get traffic sometimes.

snip

Fridays every week are a nightmare.

We quite often go and visit the parents (in Thames) and leaving the city at anything after about 3:30PM adds about an hour to the journey. It is the intersection of the SW motorway with the southern at Manukau that causes it (goes from 5 lanes of motorway to 2 in about a kilometer as you get to Hill Road). Nasty through to Takanini.

That problem can be fixed with more lanes, and I think they have already started on it:https://www.nzta.govt.nz/projects/southern-corridor-improvements/

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