Willeston Street

• A 1.5 to 2m-wide bike lane would be marked on one side of the one-way section of Willeston Street, within the existing road space, so people on bikes could ride contra-flow (in the opposite direction to the traffic) through to Victoria Street from the intersection of Willis Street, Lambton Quay and Customhouse Quay.
• The traffic lane would be narrowed to 3.2m wide and marked with sharrows (the arrow and cycle symbol) to show that cars and bikes would need to share the lane as they do now.
• The bike lane would be painted green and also marked with sharrows.
• A green stop box would be marked at the intersection of Willis Street, Lambton Quay and Customhouse Quay. 
• Right-turning and straight-ahead traffic would share the same lane (there are separate lanes near the intersection at the moment).
• The traffic light phasing at the Victoria Street intersection would be altered slightly to give people on bikes a head start to turn right into Victoria Street or continue along the two-way section of Willeston Street towards the waterfront.

We want to make things safer and more convenient for people on bikes, and improving connections between streets is one of the ways we can do this.

Making this change would improve the connection between the Golden Mile and the waterfront.

This type of bike lane was proposed because the traffic volumes and speeds on Willeston Street are low. About 1400 vehicles a day travel this way and the average speed is 23 km/h.

This was one of a series of planned changes to improve connections and make it safer and easier for people to get places in the central city by bike.  

People driving towards the Lambton Quay intersection would have a clear view of anyone cycling towards them.

There would be enough room for a bike lane within the existing road space. 

• The feedback period for the traffic changes (resolutions) for this proposal was 25 July to 11 August 2017.

• Councillors were expected to make a decision in mid-September 2017 but the proposal was not progressed.

Read the proposed traffic resolution report that went out for consultation.

More about contra-flow lanes and how they work