Moore Street is the road that motorists are not permitted to access before 9 am. There is a locked gate during the morning peak. Queues of cars form at 9am, waiting for the gate to be opened.
Over the last couple of weeks ITC has received queries about the Moore Street Gates – there was a period of time when the gates were open at 9am. This is a problem for local residents. If the gates are open, motorists rat run through Barwon Road to avoid congestion at Epping Road and Centennial Avenue intersection.
We have been advised by Lane Cove Council that the gates were open during the Easter School Holidays and continued to stay open after there was a reduction in traffic (attributed to less travel to work during COVID-19). The gate closing was reintroduced on 14 July 2020.
We are not sure why the gates are open during School Holidays. Lane Cove West Public School commences at 9.30 am, so opening the gates at 9.00 am does not appear to assist school children safely walking to school. ITC asked the previous Lane Cove West School Prinicpal about the gates and if they were a safety device – she told ITC that she did not think the gates assisted pedestrian safety as children walked to school between 9.00 amd 9.30 am.
Drivers Fined
One ITC follower told us that she was heading to Macquarie Centre and saw the gates were opened and used Moore Street to access Epping Road. As she turned into Epping Road she was waived over by the police and fined. The time was 8.50 am. The police also fined four other cars after her. It is interesting that the police thought it was necessary to patrol this area. They could have called the Lane Cove Council and asked them to make sure the gates were closed until 9.00 am. The moral of the story is make sure you look at the time and do not access Epping Road via Moore Street if the gates are open and it is before 9.00am.
Gates Not Open
On Thursday this week the gates were not opened at 9.00 am. ITC was sent the photo below; taken at 9.10 am. The roving reporter who took the photo said they turned around and left at 9.20 am. When we asked Lane Cove Council for a comment we were advised:
“Today the gate was unfortunately delayed in opening for approx. 10 minutes as two staff were sick and the next alternate was delayed in reaching the gate. We have been advised that a delay like this happens infrequently as the back up of staff is usually sufficient to cover these scenarios.”
Moore Street Congestion
Moore Street can become congested. About two years ago a frustrated motorist installed several signs aiming to educate drivers they can legally turn into the Epping Road bus lane. ITC was surprised that this was legally permitted. ITC has never turned into the bus lane thinking that was an illegal turn. ITC was wrong. The sign is correct.
According to Rule 158 of the NSW Road Rules
158 Exceptions to driving in special purpose lanes etc
(1) The driver of any vehicle may drive for up to the permitted distance in a bicycle lane, bus lane, tram lane, transit lane or truck lane if it is necessary for the driver to drive in the lane:
(a) to enter or leave the road, or
(b) to enter a part of the road of one kind from a part of the road of another kind (for example, moving to or from a service road, the shoulder of the road or an emergency stopping lane), or
(c) to overtake a vehicle that is turning right, or making a U-turn from the centre of the road, and is giving a right change of direction signal, or
(d) to enter a marked lane, or part of the road where there is room for a line of traffic (other than motor bikes, bicycles, motorised wheelchairs or animals), from the side of the road.
Note.
This subrule is an additional NSW subrule. There is no corresponding subrule in rule 158 of the Australian Road Rules.
That is correct you have 100m to change lanes. This, of course, can be tricky. How do you know how far 100 m is? Sometimes the traffic on Epping Road is bumper to bumper and it would nearly be impossible to cross into the non-bus lane within 100m. It is also a bit scary as the buses travel quite quickly in the Epping Road bus lane. They pick up speed as they come down the hill. You also need to exercise caution with the cyclists using the cycle lanes. They also travel quite quickly.
By the way, if you think you can use this exception throughout Sydney, think again. This exception does not apply to a bus-only lane. Yes, there are two types of bus lanes. Bus Lanes and Bus Only Lanes. ITC checked and the bus lane on Epping Road is a Bus Lane which means that taxis, hire cars, motorcycles etc are permitted.
Have you been fined for using Moore Street before 9.00 am when the gates are open? Have you seen the gates closed at 9.00am?
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