Franklin Road, Freemans Bay – P120 Parking Restrictions Franklin Road, Freemans Bay – P120 Parking Restrictions
Proposal status: Feedback closed 6 November 2019, last updated 10 December 2019
Reference number: RTV-253
We're making changes in your area
In October 2019, we proposed a new P120 parking zone on Franklin Road in Freemans Bay. This involved 13 on-street parking spaces between Middle Street and Victoria Street West that are currently unrestricted. The proposed time restrictions will apply from Monday to Friday, 8am to 6pm. This was similar to the parking time restrictions operating before the upgrade of Franklin Road which began construction March 2017.
Download the proposal drawing for Franklin Road (PDF 2.8MB)
Why the changes are needed
These changes are needed to increase parking availability for visitors and customers of local businesses in the area.
Proposal outcome
The proposed changes will proceed to the next stage of detailed planning before being implemented. Thank you to everyone who responded to our proposal and gave us the chance to better understand your community and concerns. A summary of your feedback and our responses to community questions is below.
Community feedback
Many respondents supported the proposal, noting that the new short-term parking restrictions will increase available parking for visitors. Thank you for the support. We are confident the new restrictions will increase parking turnover and availability on the road.
- Request for parking permits to exempt residents from proposed restrictions. As this area is considered a Business Mixed Use Zone, it is not currently eligible for a residential parking scheme. If residential permits were distributed for these parking spaces, there would be more residential permits than spaces available. No short-term parking would be available for visitors.
- Request for P180 Parking Restriction instead of P120. There currently is no reason to extend the parking restriction to 3 hours, as longer parking options are available in the adjacent paid parking zone.
- Request for perpendicular parking spaces instead of parallel to increase number of parking spaces, such as by 99 and 100 Franklin Road. hile a number of vehicles do park at an angle on Franklin Road, this parking behaviour is illegal. Angle parking would not be a safe option due to the cycle lane and volume of traffic on Franklin Road.
- Request for short-term delivery vehicle parking near the intersection of Franklin Road and Victoria Street West, or near 220 Victoria Street West. We have previously investigated requests for delivery parking in this location. However, there are no suitable options for delivery parking due to the ‘No Stopping’ (Broken Yellow Lines) parking restrictions on Franklin Road towards Victoria Street.
- Concern that the traffic island outside of 220 Victoria Street West contributes to congestion by prohibiting vehicles from queueing on the flush median to turn right into the driveway. Prior to the Franklin Road Upgrade, two lanes of northbound cars queued past the New World entrances and exits (one lane on the flush median) during peak hours. This caused visibility and safety issues for vehicles turning right out of or into 220 Victoria Street West and the adjacent carparks. The traffic island was inserted to prevent northbound cars from queuing in the flush median and blocking visibility. The traffic island has effectively reduced the two-lane queuing to just one lane. It also provides an informal safety refuge for pedestrians.
In conclusion the traffic island solution improved the safety concerns on several fronts, both for cyclists, scooters, pedestrians and turning vehicles. Unfortunately, the removal of the island to allow more right-turning vehicles to queue in the flush median would only raise too many other safety issues. - Safety concern that queued traffic, trees, and parked vehicles limit visibility of the downhill bicycle lane and footpath, especially for vehicles making a right turn into and exiting even-numbered driveways. A Road Safety Audit was undertaken following implementation of the street upgrade and this has not been identified as an issue. Care should be taken when crossing and using the bicycle lane.
- Concern that the bicycle lane is unnecessary in the area and removes needed on-street parking. The bicycle lane was part of an upgrade to Franklin Road to provide a safe environment for cyclists. This lane is an important part of the cycling network in central Auckland.
Next steps
These works are planned between March and May 2020, but we will let you know if there are further changes or delays.
Our contractors will send notices to affected residents 48-hours prior to construction starting.