Waiatarua Road, Remuera – Raised Zebra Crossing Waiatarua Road, Remuera – Raised Zebra Crossing

Proposal status: Feedback closed on 20 April 2021

Reference number: SSP2021-010B

Proposal outcome

In April 2021, we proposed to upgrade the existing pedestrian crossing on Waiatarua Road to a raised pedestrian crossing to improve pedestrian safety in Remuera. These changes were in response to concerns from local residents about driving speeds and the safety of children getting to school. After reviewing all the feedback, we are proceeding with minor changes to the proposed design. The design of the proposal has been updated to meet Meadowbank school’s request for the footpath to be extended out to align with the school’s path. These works will help support our Vision Zero goal.

The changes we are proposing:

Upgrade the existing pedestrian crossing to a raised pedestrian crossing on Waiatarua Road, outside Meadowbank Primary School.
Widen and reconstruct the footpath at either side of the crossing.
Install tactile pavers which are yellow guidance paving markers to help visually impaired people find their way to the crossing and safely cross the road.
Paint new road markings and install signs and a streetlight to support the crossing.

This proposal is supported by the Auckland Regional Fuel Tax and is part of the Safe Schools Programme, which Auckland Transport has developed in partnership with schools, school communities, Local Boards and key stakeholders including NZTA and the New Zealand Police. The aim of the programme is to deliver a Safe System approach to road safety around schools and reduce congestion by implementing various initiatives.

What happens next

We anticipate the changes will be constructed in 2021/2022 financial year. We will be in touch with local residents and business prior to any construction taking place.

Community feedback

Thank you for helping us make better decisions for your neighbourhood, informed by your local knowledge.  A summary of your feedback and our responses to community questions is below, as well as answeres to all concerns raised in feedback received.

Crossing Design

Request for the raised zebra crossing to be well lit for use during low lit hours of the day.
New street lights will be installed to support the raised zebra crossing and ensure that pedestrians using the new crossing are visible to road users.
Query regarding the need for the proposal as pedestrians have been crossing here safely for years, and some residents feel that there is no need to install a raised zebra crossing.
We have received complaints from the local community that people drive too fast on Waiatarua Road. In addition, there have been multiple reported crashes including a serious injury crash related to speeding in recent years on this road. Therefore, speeding was identified as a safety concern on Waiatarua Road, especially with a high pedestrian crossing demand at this particular location. The raised zebra crossing has been proposed to improve pedestrian safety and slow down drivers to an appropriate speed that minimises the risk for vulnerable road users.

Speeding

Request for a sign to be installed on Waiatarua Road that displays driver’s speeds.
We expect the proposed raised zebra crossing to significantly reduce drivers speed in front of Meadowbank School. Electronic signs which show drivers their speeds are generally used in situations where speeds are higher. We will monitor the effectiveness of the raised zebra crossing in reducing speed once it has been installed and consider further speed calming measures at that time if they are required.
Concern that the raised zebra crossing will only make drivers speed up between the crossing and Remuera road, or slow drivers speeds down to an unnecessary slow speed which will be an inconvenience to residents.
The proposed speed table is designed to achieve driving speeds of approximately 30km/h at the location where pedestrians cross the road. We expect drivers will return to their normal speeds once travelled over and travelling away from the crossing.

School pick up and drop off feedback

Suggestion for the school to install a school pick up and drop off zone.
Currently there is a 22m long area outside of Meadowbank School with a P5 parking restriction operational between 8am to 9am and 2:30pm to 3:30pm, Monday to Friday. An extensive pick up and drop off zone is not recommended, as it may create congestion queues for drivers waiting to get into the pickup and drop off area, which may mean residents get stuck in the queue or cannot access their properties.
Request for something to be done about the parking congestion and poor parking behaviour on Waiatarua Road during school pick up and drop off.
Meadowbank School and Auckland Transport are working together to encourage students to engage in active modes and walk or cycle to school under the Auckland Transport Travelwise programme. These actions are expected to reduce congestion and bad parking behaviour during school pick up and drop off.
Request for a school zone sign to be installed, to alert the drivers to Meadowbank school.
Existing warning signs provided for the crossing do say “School” to alert drivers to the possibility of school children using the crossing. In addition, we are currently investigating reducing the speed limit in the area around Meadowbank School, and will be consulting on speed limit changes in the coming months.
Suggestion to also implement a reduced speed limit around the school and school signs to further reduce driver’s speeds.
Auckland Transport are currently investigating reducing the speed limit on Waiatarua Road, to increase pedestrian safety further, and will be consulting on speed limit changes in this area within the coming months.
Suggestion for the school to have staff assisting pupils across the crossing during school pick up and drop off.
Currently Meadowbank School are operating a crossing patrol at the pedestrian crossing before and after school hours with school staff as supervisors. The school patrol will continue to operate after the crossing is upgraded, to ensure the safety of school children is prioritised.
Concern that the crossing will only benefit school children, and that the crossing is not needed as during school pick up and drop off driver speeds are already reduced due to traffic congestion.
Auckland Transport’s investigations have found there are pedestrians crossing at this location outside of school pick up and drop off peak times, and therefore we believe that the upgraded crossing will be beneficial for the whole community’s use. By upgrading the crossing to a raised zebra crossing, we will physically slow vehicle speeds on Waiatarua Road improve safety for all pedestrians using this crossing at all times.

Narrow Road

Request for someone from Auckland Transport to come and assess the narrowness of Waiatarua road.
Auckland Transport does not currently consider Waiatarua Road to be a narrow road because it is wider than 6.8 metres. Waiatarua Road is around 8.8 metres wide, and a road that is 6.8 metres wide is still able to fit parking on both sides of the road and still have a clear, single 2.8-metre travel lane. This is wide enough for emergency service vehicles to pass through safely.
Concern that Waiatarua road is already narrow and that this proposal will make it even narrower and create more hazards for drivers.
Currently the road at the pedestrian crossing is approximately 6.2m wide between the existing side islands and our proposal will keep the road width to be the same as it is at the crossing point and will not narrow the road further.
Query on what can be done to address people parking on the street instead of using their garages?
While parked vehicles may reduce the traffic flow to a single lane, these same parked vehicles tend to discourage drivers from speeding as cars parked on either side of the road give drivers the impression of a narrow road, encouraging greater care when driving. As a result, we believe that on street parking serves as an effective tool for maintaining acceptable driving speeds.
Suggestion to remove parking from one side of the road at the intersection of Waiatarua and Remuera Road to improve the flow of traffic during peak hours.
Thank you for your suggestion, we have forwarded this feedback on to our Road Safety team to investigate within their current project of Remuera Road/Waiatarua Road intersection.

Other network responses:

Suggestion to paint a white centre line on Waiatarua Road.
Painting a white centre line on Waiatarua Road is not recommended because it is classified as a Local Road. The road marking guidelines advise against applying centre lines on a Local Roads for multiple reasons, including that having no centre lines lower drivers’ speeds and encourage safer driving and judgement making when driving.
Request for Corinth Street to be reviewed as it is narrow and unsafe for children to cross the road.
Corinth Street has been operating relatively safely with no reported crashes relating to pedestrians in the last 5 years. There are broken yellow lines (no stopping at all times) painted at the southern end of Corinth Street to ensure that pedestrians are visible to road users when using the crossing. As Corinth Street does not currently present any safety issues, we consider the crossing to be operating safely.
Concern that this proposal is not essential and other safety issues in Meadowbank/Remuera need to be prioritised.
This project is part of our Safe Schools Programme which is focused on improving pedestrian safety directly outside of schools. At the moment other locations are outside of the scope for this Safe Schools Programme.

Intersection requests and suggestions:

Request for a crossing to be installed at Remuera/Waiatarua Road and Remuera/Koraha Road intersection.
Request for a roundabout or pedestrian crossing with traffic signals at the top of Waiatarua Road and Remuera Road.
Suggestion to remove parking from one side of the road at the intersection of Waiatarua and Remuera Road to improve the flow of traffic during peak hours.
Request for the Koraha/Remuera Road and Waiatarua/Remuera Road intersection to be reviewed for safety concerns.

Thank you for providing feedback on our proposal. We have forwarded this feedback on to our Road Safety team to investigate within their current project of Remuera Road/Waiatarua Road intersection. In addition, currently Remuera Road/Karaha Road is outside of the scope of this project however, we have forwarded it to our Road Safety team to investigate.

We're proposing improvements in your area

Aucklanders have told us that moving around our city safely and easily is important to them. We are proposing some improvements to your area.

The local community have raised concerns about driver speeds along Waiatarua Road in Remuera and asked us to improve pedestrian safety in the area.

The changes we are proposing:

Upgrade the existing pedestrian crossing to a raised pedestrian crossing on Waiatarua Road, outside Meadowbank Primary School
Widen and reconstruct the footpath at either side of the crossing.
Install tactile pavers which are yellow guidance paving markers to help visually impaired people find their way to the crossing and safely cross the road.
Paint new road markings and install signs and a streetlight, to support the crossing.

Auckland Transport would like to work with you to deliver safer roads in your neighbourhood. Safety around schools is important to us and by making these changes we aim to increase pedestrian safety by slowing driving speeds and increasing awareness of people crossing at this location.

This proposal is supported by the Auckland regional fuel tax and is part of the Safe Schools Programme.

Download the proposal drawing for Waiatarua Road (PDF 1.2MB)

Give your feedback for Waiatarua Road

If you would like to post in your feedback, download and print our feedback form template, fill in your details and send it freepost using the address details on the form.

What happens next

We’ll listen to all the feedback we receive, and then decide the best way to move forward.
We’ll post the outcome of this proposal and a summary of community feedback on this webpage.
We can email you the proposal outcome as soon as it’s ready – just select that option when you fill in the survey.

Remuera: Safe with us

Auckland Transport cares for your safety. We want to make our roads safe for everyone, people walking and cycling, especially for our kids and senior citizens and people driving. Projects like this one around Waiatarua Road are another step towards our goal of achieving no deaths or serious injuries on our roads. We are guided by the Vision Zero approach to transport safety, which prioritises human safety over other measures (like minor time saving).