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• Auckland Transport will install traffic lights at the Meola Rd, Garnet Rd and William Denny Ave roundabout. 
• Locals are upset, claiming previous roadworks caused congestion and are questioning the need for the lights. 
• Auckland Transport says the metered roundabout will improve traffic flow during peak times, citing long-standing issues. 

Frustrated residents who hoped the end of more than a year of roadworks on a busy suburban Auckland road was in sight are irate that more construction is in the works. 

Auckland Transport (AT) says it’s working to make Pt Chevalier, Meola and Garnet Rds “safer and more accessible and efficient”. 

To do this, it will install traffic lights at the Meola Rd, Garnet Rd and William Denny Ave roundabout in Westmere to turn it into a “metered roundabout”, a letter sent to affected residents said. 

The lights will only be for traffic driving north on Garnet Rd, and will be intermittently active when sensors detect a backlog of traffic on Meola Rd trying to get through the roundabout. 

But some locals have disputed the need for the roundabout to be metered, claiming traffic had been fine in the past, and some further claimed AT’s “improvements” of narrower lanes, a bike lane and pedestrian crossings on Meola Rd had created congestion. 

Locals in an inner west area notorious for its roadworks are irate Auckland Transport is planning more changes, calling it "insane" and "absolute madness". Photo / Alex Burton 

“This is insane. Their recent ‘improvements’ will almost certainly result in traffic jams due to the road narrowing at the roundabout and the inline bus stop,” one local man said on social media. 

“And now they want to spend how many more millions installing traffic lights to reduce congestion? Is this ... a joke?” he said. 

AT said traffic queues have existed at the roundabout for years – before it began working in the area – and pointed to a public feedback report from July 2020 in which some submitters called for improvements. 

AT told the Herald that introducing metering at the roundabout would help improve overall traffic flow. 

“For a number of years, our modelling shows Meola Rd traffic has had difficulty entering the roundabout during the morning peak period, causing long queues and delays for those drivers,” AT’s group manager, infrastructure project delivery, Mark Banfield said. 

“The traffic light will only be active when it is needed on weekday mornings when there are long queues of peak traffic on Meola Rd, making it quicker and easier for those drivers to enter the roundabout. At all other times, the roundabout will function as normal. 

“Roundabout metering helps balance traffic flow at each point entering the roundabout. It has already been successful in other parts of Auckland.” 

AT did not respond to the Herald‘s questions on the cost of the lights. Previous reports have placed the total cost for the improvements for the Pt Chevalier to Westmere project at $29.3 million last year. 

Locals also expressed frustration they had only just learnt of the traffic light from AT’s letter, with speculation the transport board had not been transparent about it since the beginning of the improvements. 

AT’s letter to residents said underground “ducting” for traffic lights had been installed under the road during the main tranche of work last year as a future-proofing strategy. 

The lights will only be for traffic driving north on Garnet Rd, and will be intermittently active when sensors detect a backlog of traffic on Meola Rd trying to get through the roundabout. Photo / Nicola Lamb 

Locals have also said they had seen holes in the ground they believed had been prepared for the traffic light poles. 

AT’s Banfield said: “Introducing metering at the Garnet Rd/Meola Rd roundabout has always been a consideration as part of this project, and after a robust analysis, it is clear that this will help improve overall traffic flow.” 

Raphael Franks is an Auckland-based reporter who covers breaking news. He joined the Herald as a Te Rito cadet in 2022.