Community boards consider citywide public transport priority plan

29 July 2004

Community boards are considering a draft plan that proposes public transport road improvements across the city.

The draft Citywide Public Transport Priority Plan aims  to get more people onto metro buses that move reliably and efficiently through increasing congestion on three of Christchurch’s busiest routes.

This would help free up roads for essential car trips, while benefiting the economy with improved movement of people, goods and services for business and industry.

The plan lists the most important routes for Council attention, using selection criteria approved by Council.

These proposed routes offer the best potential to maximise combined benefits for buses and bus users, cyclists and pedestrians, whilst also accounting for planned road works that would help achieve such benefits.

The three proposed routes are:

• Belfast shops to and from the bus exchange, via Main North Road and Papanui Road.
• Princess Margaret Hospital to and from the bus exchange, via Cashmere Road and Colombo Street
• Queenspark to and from the bus exchange, via New Brighton Road.

Buses on these (and five other) routes were closely assessed against the Council’s criteria for selecting the likely routes.

Different ways to give buses priority along such routes are discussed in the plan, ranging from improved bus stop layouts to bus lanes and bus signals. All  aim to improve bus reliability and travel time to encourage more people onto buses.

These different options will be considered in the next stage of the project - including option development and consultation with any interested and affected parties. Development of the plan underlines the Council’s commitment to an improved transport system, signalled in its Metropolitan Christchurch Transport Statement.

The Community boards’ feedback will go to  the 10 August meeting of the Sustainable Transport and Utilities Committee and, with a final recommendation from that Committee, to full Council for adoption on 26 August.

Further information: Robert Woods, Public Passenger Transport Planner ph 941-8060

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