A quick thank you for all your feedback on our request for experiences on Grafton Bridge during the taxi trial. We’ve sent it through to AT, who will shortly be considering Traffic Operations Manager Rob Douglas-Jones’s recommendation that the trial be ended early.
Here’s the gist of what you told us:
- While a couple of hardy correspondents weren’t too bothered, the bulk of the replies expressed concerns about taxis passing at speeds that did not feel safe. Some noted that the lack of safety is exacerbated by the narrow width of the single vehicle lanes on the bridge.
- Responses also referred to tail-gating by taxis and buses. Buses were seen as particularly threatening because of the bulk and height.
- Queries were raised about the comparative small public benefit gained by allowing taxis on the Bridge vis a vis the convenience to individual taxis who used the Bridge as a shortcut to a client not bound or coming from the hospital.
- Others mentioned the tendency for taxis to overtake cyclists to get through lights, and their impact on the efficiency of bus travel times when taxis extend the queues at Bridge traffic lights.
- Concerns were noted that having taxis on the Bridge undermined AT’s extensive work to raise public awareness of the restricted hours that cars are permitted to use the Bridge.
- The reliability of the Taxi Federation’s control of individual drivers was queried, given the level of non-compliance – especially in the context of AT’s preparatory work to ensure the terms of the trial were understood and conveyed to taxi drivers.
- Grafton Bridge and Park Rd are strategic connectors, linking the Auckland Domain and K Rd (both of which are soon to be even more biking-friendly) to the ‘top performing’ project of Lightpath and its increasingly well-travelled neighbour, Grafton Gully cycleway. Safety for more and a wider range of bikers, including families, is therefore even more important than ever before.
The following quotes from 3 of the respondents illustrate the points that many of you made:
“Grafton Bridge is often surprisingly stressful to ride despite the low speed limit and lower traffic volumes. Due to the narrow width and no passing lanes vehicles often queue up close behind you pressuring you to go faster (even if you’re riding at or near the speed limit, which is quite possible since it’s only 30kmh) and often pass you anyway. As with the rest of Auckland, taking the lane for safety often results in abuse.
The times where the bridge was limited to buses and bikes improved on this somewhat – the problems were still there but lesser due to the lack of cars…….
Given their behaviour during the trial I can’t see how they would behave better when not being monitored so closely.”
“On the occasions that I have walked across Grafton Bridge since August last year I have observed taxis travelling much faster than buses, well in excess of 30 km/h. I would also certainly not want to be a cyclist on the bridge dealing with the aggressive manner taxi drivers I witnessed drove, often causing cyclists to brake suddenly as the taxi unexpectedly overtook them within the narrow lanes.
In light of my experiences above I support the recommendation in the monitoring report to end the trial early – I think this would also help buses travel quicker over the bridge as they would not have to deal with the many taxis that now use this essential route.”
“It is […] interesting to note that the traffic analysis showed the number of taxis on the bridge going towards the hospital was quite a lot lower than the number moving away from the hospital. This indicates to me that the bulk of the taxi movements on the bridge are taxi drivers using the bridge as shortcut to their next paying fare, not taking people to and from hospital as was suggested by the Taxi industry would be the case.
As [there was] no breakdown by whether the cabs recorded using the bridge were empty or not, it is even harder to know how many of the taxis going on the bridge were simply running empty – i.e. not carrying paying passengers – so were merely repositioning themselves for another location/job elsewhere. Empty running [of taxis] on the bridge contributes little to other users of the bridge such as buses/PT use.”
Beyond the question of the taxi trial, we’re now focusing on the wider strategic issue – which is making sure Grafton Bridge is a safer connection for people on bikes. Any ideas, please share them below. We spotted a recent conversation on Twitter, for example, that suggested maybe advance green lights for bikes would help give cyclists a head start on buses. What else might work along this finite but crucial stretch of historic infrastructure?
And thank you again for contributing your thoughts – we really appreciate being able to make sure your concerns are heard.
