Small fixes to help improve Dominion Rd

by Matt Lowrie

May 04, 2025

Making public transport faster and more reliable is some of the key ways to get more people to use it, meaning more people can move around the city. Yet far too often we rely on big projects to deliver these improvements. So it's pleasing to see that Auckland Transport are consulting on a handful of small, low-cost improvements to Dominion Rd to speed up buses.

Auckland Transport (AT) is asking for feedback to change the operating hours of Dominion Road’s southbound bus lane by one hour, to help improve congestion.
AT is also proposing to install a peak time right hand turn ban at certain bottleneck intersections to improve traffic flow.
“Dominion Road is long, but quite narrow, and we simply can’t fit any more vehicles down it - it’s reached its peak,” Chris Martin, AT’s Road Network Optimisation Manager says.
“More Aucklanders are on move earlier in the afternoon, and this, combined with school traffic, means the peak travel time home on Dominion Road now starts at 3pm rather than 4pm. We need to keep pace with this, and make the appropriate amendments to keep it moving,” Mr Martin says.
“The only things we can do to speed up travel is to make the most of the space already on the road, and this means using the existing bus lane more, and to restrict right hand turns at key intersections.
“We believe this change will save the average bus passenger up to three minutes in travel time between 3pm-4pm along Dominion Road. That’s up to 15 minutes every week,” he says.
People who travel along Dominion Road will know all too well that it is often congested in peak times.
It’s been this way for more than a decade. While Auckland’s population has grown rapidly since, the number of vehicles that can fit down the road, around 25,000, has remained the same.

On top of those 25k vehicles, AT say.

Around 7,500 passengers ride a bus through Dominion Road each day, with 3,000 of these people tagging on at stops along this road.
This important route runs up to 29 buses (bus no. 25L, 25B, 252 & 253) per hour in both directions, making it essential for the community’s travel needs.

A key aspect to those bus passengers is when they travel as most will likely be travelling at peak times but AT traffic counts suggest that 1.5k vehicles travel the road in each peak period. So at those times buses are carrying the majority of people along the corridor.

There are only four changes being proposed and while they are small, the idea of restricting right-hand turns is bound to upset some people. So here's what's proposed.

Bus Lane Hours

Our data shows that more people are using Dominion Road between 3–4pm than in previous years, with the afternoon peak starting earlier and lasting longer. Carrying over 32,000 people daily, Dominion Road is a key bus route with growing delays—up to 6 minutes in the morning and 8 minutes in the afternoon. While the 4–7pm bus lane has improved bus travel during peak times, increasing congestion from 3pm, especially from school traffic and people working flexible hours, is now causing delays before the bus lane begins.
Proposed changes include:
To help everyone move along this road more efficiently to ease congestion, we are proposing to add an extra hour to the weekday bus lane operating times along Dominion Road, heading southbound (away from the city) so that it starts at 3pm instead of 4pm.
Changing the start time to 3pm will help reduce delays by 2–3 minutes for all road users and better support the longer afternoon peak.

They should make this change (or better) to all bus lanes around the region.

Memorial Avenue/ Dominion Road intersection

This intersection gets very busy, especially at peak times. In the morning, northbound (towards the city) traffic backs up from Mt Albert Road, and in the afternoon, southbound (away from the city) traffic backs up from Denbigh Avenue. These queues often block the Memorial Avenue intersection. Bus lanes end before the intersection, so buses get stuck in the same traffic as other vehicles.
Proposed changes include:
1294 - 1306 Dominion Road: we are proposing continuing the bus lane through the Memorial Ave intersection on Dominion Road. This means joining them up where it breaks on both sides (approx. 30-40 metres on each side). This will enable two lanes (one bus, one general) to move through this intersection.
We are proposing to install part-time right turn bans at 7-10am and 3-7pm on weekdays in and out of Memorial Avenue from Dominion Road to improve traffic flow.
Plans include installing broken yellow lines on Memorial Avenue, to improve traffic flow for those heading onto Dominion Road.

Wiremu Street/Dominion Road intersection

This area often gets congested because the road is narrow, there’s lots of activity along the sides, and its proximity close to two nearby sets of traffic lights (the Dominion Road / Balmoral Road intersection and a mid-block crossing near Rockfield Road). Turning in and out of Wiremu Street and Dominion Road also causes delays in both directions as vehicles can build up waiting for the vehicle to turn.

Proposed changes include:

Restrict right turns at Wiremu Street (602-618 Dominion Road) to improve productivity and congestion
The proposed times for restricting right turns in and out of Wiremu Street is 7am-10am and 3pm-7pm on weekdays and 11am-7pm on weekends.

George Street/View Road/Dominion Rodad intersection

This intersection experiences heavy traffic, especially during the afternoon peak period. Our observations have shown that southbound (heading away from the city) afternoon peak queues tend to originate from the Dominion Road / Valley Road intersection, often extending through the View Road intersection.
In the morning peak, the View Road / George Street intersection slows traffic because of its staggered layout causing inefficient signal timing. It’s a bottleneck for northbound (heading to the city) traffic and often makes it hard for buses to change lanes to turn right into View Road.
Proposed changes include:
We are planning to upgrade the pedestrian crossing on the George Street/Dominion Road intersection by adding a raised pedestrian crossing, removing a set of traffic lights and a 24/7 right turn ban in and out of George St to reduce crash risks.
We are proposing to install a clearway in front of 72-114 Dominion Road, near View Road to improve traffic flow. This will mean no parking is allowed on the eastern side of Dominion Road between Horopito Street and View Road (about 90 metres) in the afternoon peak, 3pm to 7pm on weekdays.
At the View Road intersection, we also plan to remove the left turn slip lane and install a pedestrian crossing.

These changes look good so it's worth supporting them, especially if you live in the area. Consultation is open until 25th May.

Perhaps my biggest issue with them is that it has taken AT this long to get to them. They should have made these kinds of changes years ago and looked to do the same thing on other arterials around the region.

Once small improvements like those suggested by AT have been made, perhaps we can also get back to progressing a bigger fix.