Lincoln Road peak hour bus lanes

There will be some changes to the road layout along the route to improve safety for everyone.

We’re planning to extend the centre raised median from Whiteleigh Avenue to Curletts Road to improve safety of all road users. Centre medians separate traffic lanes and prevent the potential for right-turning crashes. It also provides an opportunity to improve the street with trees and landscaping.

A U-turn bay will be installed outside 20 Lincoln Road to provide a turning opportunity for vehicles coming from Annex Road and wanting to drive towards Halswell.

We will be retaining left and right-hand turns on and off Lincoln Road onto the majority of side streets throughout this section. The exception to this is for:

• Domain Terrace – we’re proposing to remove the right turn in and out to make it safer for all road users and increase driver visibility.  If the right hand turn into Domain Terrace is removed, we’re proposing to install a right hand turning arrow from Lincoln Road onto Lyttelton Street to help with traffic flow.
• Torrens Road – we’re proposing to remove the right hand turn out, but retain the right turn in. We are keeping the right turn into Torrens Road to help with access for local businesses.

We’re keeping the four pedestrian crossing points on the centre median between Curletts and Wrights roads at their existing locations.

To further improve pedestrian safety, we’re also planning to install three more crossing points on:

• the east side of Domain Terrace, outside 44 Lincoln Road.
• both sides of Sylvan Street outside 78 and 64 Lincoln Road.

We’re also widening the footpath along Lincoln Road between Curletts and Wrights roads to 2.3 metres. It currently varies from 1.3 metres to 1.7 metres wide.

To help make things easier for people using buses, we’re planning some relocations and installations of bus stops and shelters:

• A new out-bound bus stop, with a seat, is planned for outside St Martin’s Anglican Church on Lincoln Road.
• A new city-bound bus shelter is also planned for outside McDonald’s Hillmorton.
• The existing city-bound bus stop outside the Black Horse Hotel will be relocated south opposite 28 Lincoln Road, to pair with the existing out-bound bus stop at 26 Lincoln Road. Both stops will have new seats.
• The existing city-bound bus shelter at 57 Lincoln Road will be moved north to 61 Lincoln Road.
• We’ll replace the seat at the existing south-bound bus stop at 94 Lincoln Road.

We know parking is important to residents and businesses, so we’ve tried to retain as much on-street parking as possible.
However, in order to create space for the bus lanes, we need to install parking restrictions along Lincoln Road.

During bus lane operating hours there will be no on-street parking available between Wrights Road and Curletts Road. Outside of these hours, on-street car parks will be available for use. We’re adding approximately 20 extra car parks on this section of the route which will be available to use outside peak hour bus times.

We’re also proposing to install time restricted parking outside some local businesses to help with parking availability.

P30min outside:

• Hillmorton Pharmacy
• McGregor Shoe Service

P120min outside:

• Bills Bar and Bistro
• Village Health Medical Centre
• The Black Horse Hotel

The existing parking bays on Lincoln Road between Lindores Street to Twigger Street will be retained on both sides.

We’re proposing to install no stopping restrictions at 196 Lincoln Road to give vehicles more room when turning onto Lincoln Road from Twigger Street.

We’re also planning to remove the taxi stand on Sylvan Street. This will make room for vehicles turning left onto Lincoln Road.

Power cables

While we’re working in the area we’ll be undergrounding the power cables. This helps future proof them by preventing any potential storm or weather damage and it also improves the aesthetics of the area.

Street lighting

We will be upgrading the street lighting along Lincoln Road where applicable. Locations to be confirmed, following a lighting assessment.

We’re proposing to install a boardwalk over the Heathcote River on the south side of Lincoln Road.  We’ll also trim trees and vegetation and install an open railing balustrade, providing views of the river while ensuring safety for users. 

We’ll need to remove 32 mature trees along the berms and centre median to make room for the bus lanes. For each tree removed, two new ones will be planted in the nearest suitable location.

Tree species will be selected depending on their height, canopy and growth, with appropriate species selected for different areas.

Native trees will be used where possible along berms, with hornbeams (Carpinus betulus ‘Fastigate’) and upright flowering cherry trees (Prunus amanogawa) proposed for the centre median.

This is due to their high canopy and column shape, allowing good visibility for buses, drivers, pedestrians and cyclists.

Lancewood/ Horoeka - pseudopanax crassifolius

Upright Flowering Cherry - Prunus amanogawa

Cabbage Tree - Tī kōuka Cordyline australis

Upright Hornbeam - Carpinus betulus ‘Fastigiata’

South Island Kowhai - Sophora microphylla

Totara - Podocarpus totara