Newtown to city

• Starting on Riddiford Street, between Mein and John streets, the street layout will start to change as the new bike and bus lanes are installed.
• Car parking will be removed over about the first two nights.
• Riddiford St loading zone (near John St intersection) will be relocated to the inside of the Hospital entrance driveway. 

• There will be new road markings. 
• Rubber separators and posts will be bolted to the road surface between the new bike and bus lanes. Low rubber speed humps that can easily be driven over will be attached to the road surface at driveways.
• Purpose-built raised platforms and ramps made of modular recycled material will be assembled and installed at bus stops.
• Apart from the initial overnight work to remove parking, hours will generally be 9am to 4pm.
• Cones and barriers will be in place where required but people will still be able to get to the hospital and other health services, and shops and businesses in the vicinity.
• A temporary 30km/h speed limit will be in place where work is happening, so please drive slowly and carefully.
• Pedestrians will still be able to use the route but please follow the directions of the crew when passing through the work site.
• People on bikes will have to ride in the bus or traffic lane until each section of the route is complete and fully open but please follow the directions of the crew and ride slowly through the work site.
• Bus services will run as usual – some bus stops will be moved slightly where work is happening.
• Emergency services will be given priority.
• Residents and/or business owners will have access to their properties.
• If you are expecting a delivery or have a tradesperson needing access, let the crew on site know and they will allow them through the work site.
• Rubbish collection and recycling will continue as usual but may be subject to wider Covid-related collection changes.

From early May 2022:

• Car parking on Riddiford Street between Mein and John streets will be removed over about two nights from the start of work and new lane markings painted in line with the new street layout and parking changes.
• Posts and separators between the lanes will be progressively installed, along with the new platforms and ramps at bus stops.
• The Riddiford Street section will take about four weeks.
• Similar changes will be made on Adelaide Road between John Street and Rugby Street (at the Basin Reserve).

We started with preliminary changes near the intersection of John Street, Adelaide Road and Riddiford Street. This included realigning the kerb at the crossing over Riddiford Street, repositioning the traffic signal pole, and putting in a new pedestrian kerb ramp and tactile pavers.

Other changes at the intersection of Adelaide Road and Hospital Road include replacing the median island and traffic lights in the centre of Adelaide Road with a new extended signal pole on the Hospital Road side to make the traffic lights more visible and create more space for the bus and bike lanes.

Councillors gave approval to consult on a connected citywide bike network that will make streets safer and healthier for everyone, at a meeting of Pūroro Āmua – the Planning and Environment Committee – on 23 September 2021.

At the same meeting, Councillors also voted to get going quickly on two of the critical routes in the bike network - between Newtown and the city and the Botanic Garden ki Paekākā and the city - and develop these using adaptable materials so people can use them, make suggestions, and help to refine the design once they're installed.

Engagement with businesses on the Newtown and Botanic Garden ki Paekākā to city routes started in November 2021.

We worked with a stakeholder group to develop the design options and wider feedback was gathered via a public survey. Data on things like parking use and numbers of people on bikes and buses is being gathered now so we can evaluate the changes in the future.

The bike network plan, Paneke Pōneke, was approved by Councillors on 10 March 2022 following consultation in late 2021.