Mapou Road and Squadron Drive, Hobsonville - Broken Yellow Lines Mapou Road and Squadron Drive, Hobsonville - Broken Yellow Lines

Proposal status: Feedback closed 23 August 2021, updated 24 November 2021.

Reference number: BYL-521

Proposal outcome

In August 2021, we suggested changes to roads in Hobsonville, in response to requests from a local resident.

These changes would:

  • Improve access to Uku Lane and Contact Lane from Mapou Road.
  • Stop vehicles from parking on the berm on Squadron Drive.

After reviewing all your feedback, we are proceeding with our proposed plan to paint 8 more sections of broken yellow lines on Mapou Road. These broken yellow lines will:

  • Improve visibility and access to William Stratton Lane.
  • Improve visibility at the junctions of Mapou Road and Eyton Kay Road.
  • Improve visibility at the junctions of Mapou Road and Sidney Wallingford Way.

Download the updated proposal drawing. (PDF, 732KB)

These works will help support our Vision Zero goal.

What happens next

We expect to construct these changes in late January 2022. 

Community feedback

Thank you for helping us make better decisions for your neighbourhood, informed by your local knowledge.

Most residents supported our proposal. In their feedback, people told us that the broken yellow lines would improve visibility and access for drivers. They would make it safer for drivers and emergency vehicles to enter and exit the laneways.

People also told us that they were worried about the current risk to cyclists on Squadron Drive. They supported stopping drivers from parking on the berm to keep cyclists safe. This would also stop berm damage.

Here is a summary of other comments and questions we received, and our responses to them: 

Mapou Road

  • Paint broken yellow lines on Mapou Road to further increase visibility and accessibility. They could be painted outside 34, 36, 61, 63, and 65 Mapou Road along one side of the road, or along the entire length of the road.
    Painting broken yellow lines is only appropriate where a kerb is more than 5m long and a standard size vehicle can safely legally park there.

    We've expanded the proposal to include sections of kerb that meet these criteria. The kerbs on either side of the vehicle entrance to 61, 63, and 65 are shorter than 5m. That's why we can't paint broken yellow lines at these locations.

    You can see the updated drawing for more information.

    We prefer not to paint broken yellow lines along one side of the road, as this encourages faster traffic speeds. We prefer to use a staggered approach, which encourages lower speeds.
  • Set up a 'no-parking' restriction between 7 am - 10 pm, 7 days a week. That's because there is congestion during the day, but it is fine overnight.  
    If we set up no parking restrictions for these times, we'd have to install signs at regular intervals along the street. This would spoil the streetscape.

    The original complaint was about access, and we feel that it should be guaranteed at all times.

  • Legal steps will be taken against broken yellow lines. People need to have a chance to park in front of their homes, and there's already a lack of on-street parking on this road. 
    AT is under no obligation to provide on-street parking. We try to do so when this doesn't affect our other goals.
     
    We follow the Vision Zero approach to transport safety. This means that we make human safety our number one priority. We suggest broken yellow lines where we believe there are safety issues.
     
    Road reserves are public assets. They should be available for all members of the public to use, subject to official parking restrictions by the authority that controls them. Property owners do not have extra rights over the road in front of their property.
     
  • Broken yellow lines aren't necessary if cars park 1m away from laneway entrances.  
    We proposed broken yellow lines where vehicles can't legally park 1m from vehicle entrances.

    For example, parking space 2 in our drawing is only 5.5m long. This leaves 4.5m before a vehicle would stick out of the indented parking bay.

    This also applies to other spaces, aside from the ones at the entrance to Mapou Road. 

  • This proposal is unnecessary, as the roads are safe and there have not been any incidents.
    We set up this proposal because a resident of Mapou Road asked us to look into their ability to use their vehicle entrance. 4 other residents also supported this request. 

  • Painting broken yellow lines could impact house prices.
    We suggest parking restrictions or road safety measures to make parking available or make roads safer. We don't consider house prices when we make these suggestions. We also haven't seen any evidence that parking restrictions or safety controls lower house prices.
     
  • This proposal just moves the problem somewhere else.
    We try to make suggestions that solve as much of the problem as possible. Unfortunately, displaced parking pressure is always an issue when we put new parking restrictions or controls in place.

  • Can we see the traffic health and safety risk assessment that justifies these suggested changes? 
    We haven't carried out a formal health and safety assessment. That's because we think that the day-to-day struggles residents face using their vehicle entrances are enough to justify changes on a narrow road like Mapou Road.

  • What is the phone number to call about illegally parked vehicles?
    You can call 09 355 3553 to report illegally parked vehicles to our parking enforcement call centre. The call centre is open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

Squadron Drive

  • Turn the berm on Squadron Drive into car parks and replace the concrete between the trees with grass.
    Suburbs like Hobsonville Point are designed to encourage people to walk or cycle instead of driving. Replacing grass berms with parking spaces does not fit with these goals.
     
    Replacing the grass berms would be very expensive and put cyclists at risk. That's because cars would have to cross the cycle lane when leaving parking spaces.


We're proposing improvements in your area

Aucklanders have told us that moving around our region safely and easily is important to them. We are proposing some improvements to your area. In response to a request from a resident, we are proposing to install broken yellow lines (no stopping at all times) and ‘No Stopping off the Roadway’ signs on Mapou Road and Squadron Drive, Hobsonville.

We are proposing to:

      • Paint broken yellow lines along:
        • The approach to the raised platform at the junction of Mapou Road and Squadron Drive.
        • Both sides of the Mapou Road entrance to Uku Lane.
        • Both sides of the Mapou Road entrance to Contact Lane.
        • The berm of 30 and 32 Mapou Road.
        • The cycle lane on the west side of Squadron Drive between Mapou Road and Hobsonville Point Road.
      • Install ‘No Stopping off the Roadway’ signs along the west side of Squadron Drive between Mapou Road and Hobsonville Point Road.

These changes will involve the removal of 5 parking spaces.

Download the proposal drawing for Mapou Road and Squadron Drive (PDF 384KB)

Please note that the aerial image used is the most up to date available, and it does not reflect recent property development in the area.

Auckland Transport would like to work with you to deliver safer roads in your neighbourhood. We are proposing to paint broken yellow lines on Mapou Road to improve access to Uku Lane and Contact Lane. We are also proposing changes on Squadron Drive in response to vehicles parking on the berm. This is because it causes heavy damage to the berm during the winter months and presents a risk to cyclists using the cycle lane as traffic crosses the cycle lane when accessing the berm. Therefore, we are proposing ‘No Stopping off the Roadway’ signs and broken yellow lines along this area of Squadron Drive to reduce this risk.

What happens next

      • We’ll consider 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.

Hobsonville: 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 Mapou Road and Squadron Drive 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).