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Colonial Road, Birkenhead - Clear way signs Colonial Road, Birkenhead - Clear way signs

Proposal status: closed 16 November 2018

Reference number: RTV-190

We're proposing changes in your area

We are proposing to install 'Clear Way' signs, from 8am to 6pm (Monday to Friday) on Colonial Road, Birkenhead.

Download the proposal drawing for Colonial Road (PDF 688KB)

Why the changes are needed

These changes are needed on Colonial Road as it is a local road with a high volume of trucks during a specific time of the week.

On business hours (8am to 6pm), trucks cause visibility issues from 7 to 21 and 14 to 20 Colonial Road.

Proposal outcome

This project will proceed without changes to the next stage of detailed planning. Thank you to everyone who submitted feedback. A summary of this feedback and answers to community questions and concerns is below.

Feedback received

  • Request to introduce traffic calming measures along Colonial Road, particularly for large trucks. Concern that the proposal will lead to an increase in traffic speeds. Based on our traffic counts, Colonial Road is not considered a high traffic volume road. We have conducted a number of site investigations at different times of the day, which indicated that speed is not a major issue along Colonial Road. We also do not expect that the proposal will result in higher traffic speeds, but we will continue to monitor the situation following implementation.
  • Suggestion that the road is not wide enough to accommodate cars travelling up and down the street, in conjunction with trucks. Colonial Road has a width of approximately 9 metres, which we consider sufficient clearance for vehicle traffic to safely pass in both directions. With the introduction of Clearway signage we expect that the situation will improve, particularly when vehicle traffic is at its peak.
  • Concerns that by introducing a clearway, parking availability will be reduced for residents and locals alike who need somewhere to park during the day. We recognise the importance of on-street parking as a community resource and therefore aim only to remove or limit it where it poses significant visibility, operational, or safety issues. On-street parking will continue to be available along the length of Colonial Road after 6pm. If on-street parking is required during hours that the clearway is in operation, residents and visitors may choose to park elsewhere along Colonial Road.
  • Request for indented parking bays along Colonial Road, which include residential parking waivers. Indented parking bays require significant changes to the roadway and in some cases, purchase of land. At this stage, we expect that the proposed clearway will suitably address the concerns at this location so these costs are not warranted.
  • Request for the installation of loading zones. Loading zones are typically only considered in high density commercial zones. As Colonial Road is primarily residential, we are unable to consider this request.
  • Request to extend the operational hours of the proposed clearways to begin at 6am. Our site observations have suggested that traffic volumes are relatively low at this time. It is also important to note that by applying clearway restrictions at this time, it would require residents and visitors parking overnight to remove their cars prior to 6am.
  • Request for enforcement of the clearway and other nearby parking restrictions. Parking officers will be monitoring the area once the restrictions are in place.
  • Requests for improved parking options in the area for residents and their visitors. We note from our investigations that most properties have sufficient off-street parking and that the number of on-street parking spaces that will be retained should accommodate the parking demand.
  • Request for broken yellow lines to be extended from 47 Colonial Road to 25 Colonial Road to ensure easy access for trucks. On-street parking is a valuable community resource and is therefore only removed where it poses significant visibility, operation, or safety issues. Our investigations did not suggest that there were major concerns at this location that would warrant installation of broken yellow lines.
  • Concern over near misses with trucks crossing the kerb etc. There is no register on our database to suggest that this is an issue. However, we will continue to monitor the situation following implementation.
  • Concern that trucks parking near the southern end of Colonial Road are causing safety hazards. Our investigations have not suggested that trucks frequently park at this location. If you do observe vehicles parking in an unsafe manner please contact the Auckland Transport Enforcement Team by calling 09 355 3553.
  • Request for trucks coming to and from the Sugar Factory to coordinate the timing of movements, so that trucks coming in opposing directions do not need to pass one another. It is extremely difficult to coordinate this kind of timing. However, installation of Clearway signs will better ensure sufficient width for large vehicles to pass.
  • Concern over noise pollution as a result of trucks travelling along Colonial Road. We do not have control over noise produced by trucks along Colonial Road. If you notice an increasing number of trucks, please contact us for further investigation.

Next steps

This work will happen on or before June 2019, 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.