By Melissa Davies
A New Zealand Transport Agency study has found that traffic lights installed at motorway on-ramps have significantly helped in reducing traffic congestion during peak hour.
The figures suggest improvement, but have the lights just moved the problem elsewhere?
Traffic is moving 14 percent faster since ramp signals were introduced, according to NZTA, but there are still times when traffic is so congested, the ramp signals are redundant.
"At a certain point all the ramps become overloaded and they don't become effective," says Tommy Parker. "It's just the weight of traffic overruns the system so at that point we switch them off."
Motorists aren't convinced. Every one 3 News spoke to thought the blockage has simply moved from the motorway to the feeder roads.
"I think they help when you're on the motorway… but I don't know if they just put the traffic back onto other roads," says motorist Nick Melrose. "I guess we've just got to live with them really."
"I think it just pushes a lot of it back into the suburbs," says Robin Goldsbury. "It takes longer for it to clear."
But Mr Parker says far from the ramps becoming jammed, there are on average 150 more cars per hour getting down them than before the lights went in.
And don't forget, the trip on the motorway is now faster too, so the ramp wait is not as bad as it feels.
"I understand there is a perception in some parts of the network that there are greater delays, but that's not what our results are showing," says Mr Parker. "But it's a dynamic system, so it's something that we're constantly changing and upgrading."
The chief of road policing says so far people have been pretty good at obeying the lights, but reminds motorists that running a red on the on-ramp carries a fine of $150.
NZTA found that over 58 light phases, eight cars run the red light.
3 News conducted its own experiment and found that over five minutes, four cars snuck through – caught, but only on camera.
3 News