The New Zealand Transport Agency has requested monitoring of Mana Esplanade?s T2 lanes are scaled back
By Jamie Melbourne-Hayward
The New Zealand Transport Agency has requested monitoring of Mana Esplanade?s T2 lanes are scaled back while they prepare an application for the Poririua City Council to change the lane in August. Porirua City Councillor Nick Leggett says the lanes? have caused a lot of confusion and will be replaced by clearways to accommodate all cars regardless of how many passengers they carry. The lanes have cost taxpayers nearly $1 million to monitor. ?The T2 is going to be knocked out,? says Mr Leggett. NZTA is in the process of changing the designation for the area and will soon deciding on operating hours for the lanes. Mr Leggett says the T2 lanes came about because of environment court decisions but ?have been confusing for people?. ?We hope it will be more workable now, and we have to keep in mind the local Mana residents,? he says. NZTA State Highways Manager Rob Whight says until they have applied to make the legal road alteration they are required by Porirua City Council?s District Plan to continue monitoring T2 lane compliance. ?In the meantime we have scaled back the amount of monitoring our contractor Tenix undertakes as much as we are able in recognition of the proposed change,? he says. NZTA are preparing its application to Porirua City Council following last year?s review of the Paremata to Plimmerton upgrade. ?NZTA staff is currently working on this application to make the necessary designation alterations required to change the T2 lanes to clearways and modify the operating hours of the lanes to suit differing traffic flows since they were established in 2005. ?The alteration is seeking to accommodate other changes agreed by Porirua City Council and NZTA as a result of the review process,? says Mr Whight.
