The metered lights at Paremata Roundabout

Positive results from metered lights

The results of the metered lights at SH1 Paremata Roundabout are in, and they're great! The change has resulted in improved overall journey times and a safer experience for users.

Since the signals were activated on 1 July, our monitoring shows that:

• Travel times have significantly improved for southbound traffic through the roundabout, with approximately 1860 vehicles during the 4-6pm peak experiencing an average five-minute reduction in journey times
• Drivers from other directions, including approximately 2330 vehicles travelling northbound on SH1 and 1360 vehicles travelling east onto SH58 between 4-6pm, have not been significantly affected – with a negligible increase in journey times
• The smoother operation of the roundabout has improved safety for all users
• There has been no noticeable increase in “rat-running” along local roads to avoid the SH1 lights.

The lack of impact on northbound drivers is because the red light is only being triggered about half of the time the lights are operating. In other words, around half of northbound and westbound traffic doesn’t have to stop at all during peak hours, and the other half of vehicles are being delayed by less than a minute.

We’ve also had positive feedback from Paremata Park & Ride users who now feel much safer and confident exiting the car park. Because of this feedback, we've extended the operating period to cover the 6.15pm train, when there is high demand to exit onto the roundabout.

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Commuters will be prevented from parking on the berm of the roundabout

Preventing illegal parking at Paremata

Work is set to get underway to prevent illegal and dangerous parking on the berm of SH1 Paremata Roundabout.

Illegal parking by commuters on the grass berm of Paremata Roundabout is creating a safety risk for state highway traffic, and for the cyclists and pedestrians who use the shared path next to the berm.

Because of the danger to other users we are working with Porirua City Council and Metlink to install measures, such as bollards, which will prevent illegal parking in this area.

This work will also include cleaning the footpath and repairing damage to the berm, and is scheduled to take place this week.

Metlink is currently developing 72 additional car parks at Paremata Park and Ride. These are expected to be available by early November.

More information

For more information on the SH1 Paremata roundabout improvements project, contact us at paremataroundabout@nzta.govt.nz

Visit our website www.nzta.govt.nz/paremata-roundabout