Driver sees red over new signals

On-ramp signals at the northern motorway are under fire from an angry North Shore motorist.

Milford resident Jane Russell says the signals are ludicrous, causing chaos on local roads and air pollution.

Mrs Russell is angry about the new southbound on-ramp signals on Esmonde Rd.

She says it takes only half an hour to get from her Ocean View Rd home to Mt Albert where she works as an executive assistant.

Traffic was nightmarish during the morning peak on Monday when the lights were on, she says.

"What was normally a 35-minute travel time for me doubled to an hour and 10 minutes, it was just unbelievable.

"It took us 50 minutes to get to Esmonde Rd from Barrys Pt Rd. We got into a mess and it was absolute chaos," Mrs Russell says.

She says traffic clogged all roads leading to Esmonde Rd and fumes from cars choked the environment.

"There were thousands of cars just sitting there with their engines running, it’s beyond belief, it’s stupidity at its worst point.

"We’ve been bellyaching about the ozone layer and yet here our transport officials are creating a nice hole on the Shore," Mrs Russell says.

North Shore City Council project development manager Ken Lee-Jones says the Esmond Rd southbound on-ramp signals became operational on October 28.

He says the jammed up Esmonde Rd was due not to the ramp signals but to occasional incidents on the motorway.

Mr Lee-Jones says the ongoing Newmarket viaduct project also affects traffic flow during morning and evening peak hours.

Infrastructure and environment committee chairman Ken McKay says it’s unfair to blame the ramp signals for what happened on Monday.

"There have always been days when hold-ups occur even before the on-ramp signals were installed," he says.