Auckland traffic wtf how does one cope

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#1489751 10-Feb-2016 13:46

I use Google navigation when I am in Auckland. Has saved my bacon too many times to count. I can think of at least four occasions where I was diverted off the motorway to avoid accidents that would have resulted in massive delays/missed appointments. The realtime traffic reporting on Google maps is very impressive.

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#1489882 10-Feb-2016 17:54

trig42:
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/

More lanes at random places won't fix anything. It needs to be throughout the whole motorway or some well researched bits otherwise the concertina effect at the bottlenecks could theoretically make the congestion worse.

bmt

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#1489922 10-Feb-2016 19:42

trig42:

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/

I do the drive down to Hamilton on Friday afternoon/evening quite often and this past Friday was definitely the worst I have ever experienced. Took over 45 minutes to get from the Mt Wellington on-ramp to Takanini (15km).

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#1491740 13-Feb-2016 19:26

MikeB4:

I take back all I have ever said, I don't know how Aucklanders cope and not go postal. We are in Auckland on holiday, Whangaparaora to be exact and the traffic is insane. It took an eternity to go from Takapuna to Manly Beach mid afternoon.

My Rule #1 - Take the train or bus if possible and practical.

My Rule #2 - If you aren't already 'there' (where you're going in / around Auckland) on a Saturday / Sunday by 09:30am.....don't bother. All the slow-risers hit the road just after 10am and the roads turn to crap for hours. (At peak season move that to 08:30am).

My Rule #3 - If approaching the city from the south anywhere close to rush hour, get off at Princes st and take Great South Road northward instead....(I shouldn't tell people this.....or it won't work for me).

My Rule #4 - Stay the hell away from Te Irirangi Dr after 6am and before 7pm. :-)

My Rule #5 - Southbound on the Northern motorway after 2;30pm.....don't. Never use Constellation Dr southbound unless the sun has set and / or it's after 7pm. Get off the motorway and go through Glenfield, down Pupuke, and through lake Rd round-about to join the Motorway at the last posible moment.....so all you need to do is get over the bridge.....then get take the Port exit and come back up to SH1 from Grafton.....and by-pass the massive queue that can be from Grafton right back to the Bridge. Or just go back to #1 and take the bus / train. They have special lanes....easy.

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#1491783 13-Feb-2016 20:54

Linuxluver:

MikeB4:

I take back all I have ever said, I don't know how Aucklanders cope and not go postal. We are in Auckland on holiday, Whangaparaora to be exact and the traffic is insane. It took an eternity to go from Takapuna to Manly Beach mid afternoon.

My Rule #1 - Take the train or bus if possible and practical.

My Rule #2 - If you aren't already 'there' (where you're going in / around Auckland) on a Saturday / Sunday by 09:30am.....don't bother. All the slow-risers hit the road just after 10am and the roads turn to crap for hours. (At peak season move that to 08:30am).

My Rule #3 - If approaching the city from the south anywhere close to rush hour, get off at Princes st and take Great South Road northward instead....(I shouldn't tell people this.....or it won't work for me).

My Rule #4 - Stay the hell away from Te Irirangi Dr after 6am and before 7pm. :-)

My Rule #5 - Southbound on the Northern motorway after 2;30pm.....don't. Never use Constellation Dr southbound unless the sun has set and / or it's after 7pm. Get off the motorway and go through Glenfield, down Pupuke, and through lake Rd round-about to join the Motorway at the last posible moment.....so all you need to do is get over the bridge.....then get take the Port exit and come back up to SH1 from Grafton.....and by-pass the massive queue that can be from Grafton right back to the Bridge. Or just go back to #1 and take the bus / train. They have special lanes....easy.

i take it you dont drive the motorways much? because most of what you have said is incorrect, and i drive the motorways everyday, from south auckland to the shore.

ScuL

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#1494640 18-Feb-2016 09:22

I've just come back from a week in Amsterdam and the Auckland traffic is a true blessing in comparison, so much smoother.. Still get from our house (North Shore) to work (CBD) in under 20 minutes here.

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trig42

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#1494648 18-Feb-2016 09:32

joker97:
trig42:

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/

More lanes at random places won't fix anything. It needs to be throughout the whole motorway or some well researched bits otherwise the concertina effect at the bottlenecks could theoretically make the congestion worse.

More lanes from The SH20/SH1 intersection at Manukau through to Papakura will fix that particular problem. It goes from a two lane motorway merging with a 3-lane (so 5 lanes of traffic) down to 2 lanes within about a kilometer, and that backs up all the way back to Mt Wellington on a Friday night. This is what they have already started work on (it was OK before they joined SH20 to SH1).

EDIT: What is with the editor in the forum at the moment - adding in a heap of Line Breaks?

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#1494652 18-Feb-2016 09:35

ScuL:

I've just come back from a week in Amsterdam and the Auckland traffic is a true blessing in comparison, so much smoother.. Still get from our house (North Shore) to work (CBD) in under 20 minutes here.

Over an hour from Glenfield leaving before 7am this morning - most of that was just getting to the motorway.

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#1494653 18-Feb-2016 09:36

Prepare for chaos on Auckland motorways tomorrow, with a large number of bus services being off the road due to strikes for 24hrs.

Thankfully someone in my office lives down the road from me and drives in, so will get lift with him but suspect it'll be long trip due to extra traffic on the roads compensating for the buses....

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Jeeves

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#1494694 18-Feb-2016 10:13

I have to drive from Gulf Harbour into town tomorrow for a 9am conference. I'm budgeting two hours - hopefully enough.

I might use the bus lanes - the buses wont be!

knoydart

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#1494726 18-Feb-2016 11:00

Jeeves:

I have to drive from Gulf Harbour into town tomorrow for a 9am conference. I'm budgeting two hours - hopefully enough.

I might use the bus lanes - the buses wont be!

Birkenhead and Northern Express buses will still be running so watch out on the Shore. I have to shuffle in from the west tomorrow on the train, and I'm not expecting it to be pretty. The Western line is already full most mornings so am preparing for a long wait for a train with space.

MikeB4

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#1494752 18-Feb-2016 11:09

We have developed a new rule for Auckland driving, my wife takes the controls at the Bombay Hills and keeps it until we are clear of Auckland. Coming the other way she will take the con from around Matakana. This works a breeze and BP and stress levels are lowered considerably.

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#1494765 18-Feb-2016 11:10

Jeeves:
I have to drive from Gulf Harbour into town tomorrow for a 9am conference. I'm budgeting two hours - hopefully enough.

I might use the bus lanes - the buses wont be!

Don't you get a juicy fine for doing that? I'm sure if you've thought about it Auckland traffic officers will too

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#1494767 18-Feb-2016 11:12

MikeB4:
We have developed a new rule for Auckland driving, my wife takes the controls at the Bombay Hills and keeps it until we are clear of Auckland. Coming the other way she will take the con from around Matakana. This works a breeze and BP and stress levels are lowered considerably.

Or just have a really good sound system and good music and prepare to take a long time.

MikeB4

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#1494768 18-Feb-2016 11:13

1eStar: I use Google navigation when I am in Auckland. Has saved my bacon too many times to count. I can think of at least four occasions where I was diverted off the motorway to avoid accidents that would have resulted in massive delays/missed appointments. The realtime traffic reporting on Google maps is very impressive.

Agreed, however on our last trip to Auckland I could not for the life of me get Google Maps and Nav working on my iPhone. My wife's Huawei worked great but the phone is massive and does not fit in the slot provided. When we were going back through the central NI the Google Maps worked fine on my

iPhone and I had made no changes. Odd.

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