AT is finally fixing Lake Road's notorious Belmont bottleneck. Have your say by June 21.
If you've ever white-knuckled your way through the Belmont Shops on Lake Road during morning rush hour, firstly we feel you, and secondly, you'll want to hear this.
Auckland Transport (AT) has just dropped a proposal to sort out one of the Devonport Peninsula's most infamous traffic nightmares, and honestly? It's about time.
Here's the deal: at the Belmont Shops intersection, cars are trying to merge from two lanes back to one, with not enough road to do it properly, so queues end up blocking the actual intersection. Throw in confusing layouts, busy pedestrian crossings, and cars pulling in and out of parking spaces, and you've got yourself a recipe for a very bad morning.
One local told the NZ Herald that off-peak, the run into the city takes about 20 minutes, but with traffic, it can stretch to 90. Ninety minutes. For a drive that should take twenty. Yeah.
So what's actually changing?
AT is pitching a bunch of tweaks that they're calling "low-cost, high-impact" and the list is pretty sensible:
A weekday morning clearway on the western side of Lake Road will give northbound traffic more space to merge after the School Road turn-off. The merge lanes will also be extended before cars have to funnel back into one lane.
On the pedestrian side, the zebra crossing at Williamson Avenue is getting the chop and will be replaced with a proper signalised crossing - shorter distances, better visibility, easier for the school kids.
Buses are getting some love too. The 814 route currently has to do an awkward manoeuvre where it pushes past the intersection in front of queued vehicles, sometimes blocking straight-through traffic during a green light phase. The fix? A new stop on Lake Road with a shelter, so the bus doesn't have to do that whole dance anymore.
Six car parks are also tagged for permanent removal to make room for the relocated bus stops. Not the most popular news for shoppers, but a trade-off AT seems to think is worth it.
Have your say
AT is taking feedback on the proposal at athaveyoursay.govt.nz, and you've got until 21 June 2026 to weigh in. If this road has ever made you late to work, school pickup, or just completely ruined your morning. Now's your chance to be heard.
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