The intersection of Lake Road and Bayswater Ave/Williamson Ave in Devonport is a known congestion and safety pinch point. Auckland Transport are proposing a fast, low-cost project to improve traffic flow and pedestrian safety.
Lake Road as a whole has a terrible history for crashes causing serious harm to people on bikes. There have been at least 10 that we know of, including the tragic killing of Warrick Jones at an intersection nearby this one.
Unfortunately, the focus of this new project is the flow of cars, not the flow of people. The intersection movements will be clearer – for car drivers. There is a section of morning clearway – for more cars. (They are also improving pedestrian crossings to protect the increasing population from all those cars – which is a sensible part of the proposal.)
But don’t we already have a plan for improving Lake Road?
There is a long history of Lake Road and Bayswater Ave improvement projects which, unfortunately, have never been built. All the way back in 2012, Bike Auckland wrote about the lack of a cycleway in this area:
“Crazy, as this is one of the highest density cycle routes in Auckland, being a key route between the Eastern Bays, Takapuna, and the Devonport ferry terminal. … What about the Lake Rd – the Bayswater Ave intersection? Particularly diabolical northbound, and not much better southbound in heavy traffic.”
Despite many proposals, community consultations, funding sourced, funding vanishing again, project pauses and project restarts since then, things haven’t changed much on the ground. It’s still diabolical for people on bikes.
As recently as late 2024, Bike Auckland expected to see construction begin on protected bike lanes on Lake Road. Further investigation and design for the Lake Road upgrade was confirmed in the 2024 Regional Land Transport Plan to commence in the 2026/2027 financial year.
So recently that we were surprised that cycling is not part of this project.
The last design has protected cycle lanes on either side of Lake Road as well as a bidirectional cycle lane on Bayswater Ave going to Bayswater School.
The Bayswater Ave slip lane was removed in that design, providing more space for pedestrians and allowing for a cycle lane travelling north along Lake Road outside the shops. Currently people on bikes have to battle between parked cars and merging traffic. The new proposal removes the parked cars 7-9 am, but is still very dangerous for people on bikes.
As Auckland Transport acknowledges, “We know Lake Road has a long history of discussion and future planning. This project is intended to deliver practical improvements that can help now, while longer-term corridor planning continues.”
Our concern is that if we make more space for cars today, it will make it even harder to change things in future. With these changes we are further embedding car-dependency, making it harder to convince people going forward that more space-efficient transport like bikes and buses are the solution to the congestion.
How to have your say on the 2026 Belmont Shops Intersection changes
Have your say on the proposal either via the survey or in person this Saturday 13 June at the Rose Centre 10am-12pm. Feedback closes on Friday 21 June, so don’t delay.
Some ideas of what you could consider mentioning in your survey response, or in person to Auckland Transport.
Your personal experiences and needs will carry more weight than general comments. Make it personal where you can.
- Morning clearway. You could mention that you would prefer to remove parking to make space for more space-efficient transport modes like bikes and buses rather than removing parking to make space for more cars.
- Intersection layout and turning lanes. You could ask for bike boxes at the stop lines. You could explain how the slip lane from Bayswater Ave onto Lake Road creates a hazardous situation where bikes are caught between merging and parked cars, and that you’d like to see it closed so that riders are safer.
- Intersection and pedestrian safety. You could point out that since the intersection is near Bayswater School, there will be kids on bikes using the crossings, therefore, it would make sense to have bike-plus-pedestrian crossings.
- Q11 other safety or access improvements AT should consider. You could ask them to consider how to make it safer for people on bikes. You could note the appalling history for crashes involving bikes on Lake Road. You could also mention here that you liked the previous plan (PDF) for the Belmont Centre Improvements and you’d like to see a design that is closer to that one.
