447 Motutara Road, Muriwai - Pedestrian improvements 447 Motutara Road, Muriwai - Pedestrian improvements
Proposal status: Feedback closed 6 July 2020, last updated 14 October 2020
Reference number: CSFR1.2
In June 2020, we proposed changes in your area
To improve safety and provide a safe place for people to cross the road, the Rodney Local Board and Auckland Transport proposed to install a new informal crossing and footpath at the corner of Waitea Road and 447 Motutara Road. These changes were requested by the local board with regards to pedestrian safety in this area.
Changes proposed:
- Install an informal crossing on Motutara Road that aligns with the start of the lookout track. People driving are not required to stop however the crossing would give a safer place to cross the road.
- Install new broken yellow lines (no stopping at all times) on both the north and south side of the road, removing a total of 18 parking spaces to ensure clear visibility for drivers.
- Install tactile pavers which are yellow guidance paving markers to help visually impaired people to cross the road.
- Extend the kerb out to make it safer for pedestrians by reducing the distance they need to walk on the road.
Download the proposal drawing for Motutara Road (PDF 306KB)
Proposal outcome
We have listened to community feedback and have decided that this proposal will not proceed. Moderate support was received for this proposal with respondents requesting a continuous footpath to tie in with the existing footpath, however due to resource consenting issues, we were unable to progress with that option. After discussion with the local board, and as this project is dependent on funding, we have decided to look into other ways of improving safety for people in this area once funding is secured. If a new proposal is designed, we will ask the community for their feedback on our new plans.
Thank you to everyone who responded to our proposal and gave us the chance to better understand your community and concerns. A summary of this feedback and our responses to community questions and concerns is below.
Community Safety Fund
The Community Safety Fund programme is focused on tackling road safety concerns. This programme is dependent on the level of funding AT receives from Auckland Council. Unfortunately this year, funding has been constrained due to the impact of Covid-19. Planning and design will continue but currently many projects cannot be delivered in the 2020/2021 financial year.
This proposal is also supported by the Auckland regional fuel tax.
Muriwai: 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 Motutara 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).
Community feedback
- Request for the broken yellow lines to stop at 376 Motutara Road. The broken yellow lines (no stopping at all times) restrictions are proposed as part of this project to ensure minimum sight distance and visibility between pedestrians and drivers is provided at the new kerb ramps. In this instance, the removal of parking with broken yellow lines is considered necessary to ensure pedestrian safety.
- Request for the footpath to be extended from the bottom of Waitea Road to the start of the lookout track. Limited width is available on the eastern side of Motutara Road to accommodate a new footpath without impacting on existing embankment and trees. In addition there is likely to be resource consenting issues associated with removing and working underneath trees. Therefore, extending the footpath to the north is not being considered.
- Concerns that the proposed extension of the kerb at the corner of Waitea Road will limit driver visibility. The proposed kerb build out at the eastern corner of Waitea Road and Motutara Road will not impact driver visibility as no vertical features which could block visibility are being proposed at this location.
- Concerns that the kerb extension will restrict smooth vehicle access, particularly for larger vehicles. As part of the kerb build out design, vehicle tracking checks have been undertaken to demonstrate all required vehicles can use the intersection with no issues.
- Request for the informal crossing to be upgraded to a raised crossing to deter excessive speeds. Existing pedestrian demand does not currently justify installing a raised crossing facility at this location. Upon construction being completed, use of the crossing can be monitored and further improvements considered if required.
- Request for only one informal pedestrian crossing to be installed at the start of the lookout track. The proposed kerb ramps are designed to accommodate pedestrian travelling along eastern side of Waitea Road wishing to head north to be able to cross at the intersection, and pedestrians wishing to head to and from the lookout track to cross directly in front of the track entrance. We therefore consider these crossing facilities to be appropriately located.
- Safety concerns over excessive speeds on Motutara Road as many drivers do not comply with the current legal limit of 50km. While we do appreciate your concerns, Motutara Road has not been identified in the first group of areas within our Residential Speed Management Programme as other areas in the region are experiencing higher speeds and safety risk. The main focus of this proposal is to provide a safe crossing facility for people crossing at these locations. We are currently working to a plan to reduce speeds on Auckland’s roads. This plan targets the highest priority areas based on the level of safety risk measured for each road on our network. The initial roll out of speed reduction is focused on approximately 10 per cent of our road network, including residential areas. This programme focuses delivery to areas that have been prioritised for changes to reduce the incidence and impact of crashes. This is based on several factors, including the number of crashes, safety risk, traffic speed, land use and concerns raised by local residents and their elected representatives. More information, including the residential areas that will be prioritised for further investigation can be viewed on the Residential Speed Management Programme section.
- Request for the speed limit to be reduced to either 20/30km on both directions of Motutara Road. Under the Speed Limits Bylaw 2019, Auckland Transport is looking to reduce the speed limits of some high-risk rural, urban and residential roads, as well as various town centres and the city centre. While we do appreciate your concerns, Motutara Road has currently not been identified as part of these speed limit changes. The roads currently under consideration for a change to their speed limit have been selected based on a number of criteria, including the risk of death or serious injury as well as those with large numbers of vulnerable road users. 90% of the roads we plan to reduce speed on are rural roads. The remaining are made up of the city centre, town centres and residential roads.
They have been selected because they:- are either high-risk roads or close to high-risk roads.
- have high crash rates or are close to roads with high crash rates.
- have speed limits which are unsuitable – they could be winding, hilly or have unsegregated lanes.
- don’t have a centre median strip.