Shakespeare Road, Milford - Speed calming measures Shakespeare Road, Milford - Speed calming measures

Proposal status: Feedback closed 22 December 2020. Last updated 12 March 2021.

Reference number: RTV-308

Proposal outcome

In December 2020, we proposed changes to improve pedestrian safety on side roads near Milford School in Milford. After reviewing all the feedback we received, this project will proceed with minor changes to the next stage of detailed planning.

Concerns were raised regarding the sight visibility between drivers and people crossing, therefore we will be adding some broken yellow lines on Stratford Avenue and Woodbridge Lane. This will result in approximately a total of 4 parking spaces being removed; 2 on each street.

These works will help support our Vision Zero goal.

Download the updated drawing for the Shakespeare Road proposal (PDF 261KB)

What happens next

We anticipate the changes will be constructed in May/June 2021. 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.

We received feedback noting that this project will help drivers slow down when approaching Shakespeare Road and help people walking cross more safely.

Thank you for your feedback. We expect to create a safer environment with slower traffic when approaching Shakespeare Road and making it safer for all road users and people walking.

Stratford Avenue

Concern the speed bump on Stratford Avenue will make it more difficult and dangerous to get into and out of the road, especially as it would make visibility worse.
The 'give way' lines (where the car waits before pulling out into the main road) are not changing significantly. Therefore, the sight distances for drivers exiting the streets will not be affected.
Concern about visibility at Stratford Avenue/Shakespeare Road junction and that a raised speed table will make this worse.
To improve visibility the bus stop is being set back, and vegetation will be trimmed.
Concern the raised speed table will cause more congestion for cars entering or exiting Stratford Avenue.
The project's aim is to reduce driver speeds in and out of the side streets and make people walking move visible. The speed table will impact on vehicles entering and exiting the side streets, however this is by design. This is a common treatment at side streets to improve the safety of people walking.
Concern that Stratford Avenue is narrow, and the raised speed table will cause traffic to back up around the corner when cars turn left into the street.
Based on experience with this type of project in other locations, this is not an expected outcome. However, any safety issue onto the main road will be monitored.
Concern cars already park on the yellow lines and grass verge in Stratford Avenue and that a raised speed table will not help this situation.
Broken yellow lines will be repainted, and enforcement will increase.
Suggestion for an education programme or parking officers to patrol the area at school drop off/pick up times to remind people not to double park.
Education of driver behaviour is something Auckland Transport is working on through campaigns and specifically in this area with the school.
Suggestion to create a no stopping area at the intersection of Stratford Avenue/Shakespeare Road.
The only parking currently near Stratford Avenue on Shakespeare Road is the indented parking outside the school. Removal of this may be something for a future project phase.
Suggestion to make Stratford Avenue resident-only parking.
Resident-only parking schemes are being implemented by Auckland Transport, however the current priority of these is in areas where public transport users are treating residential streets as informal park and ride locations. Milford is currently not a priority for a resident parking scheme.
Suggestion for safety barriers at the school zones (barriers between the pavement and the road near the school gates to prevent runaway bikes or scooters ending up in the road and children running after them).
This is not something we would consider as barriers will often reduce overall safety of pedestrians. Auckland Transport supports the Vision Zero philosophy, which is about acknowledging humans make errors and the correct response in the transport network is to ensure that any mistake does not result in death or serious injury. Generally this means slowing down vehicles which creates more time for reaction and less harm when a crash does occur.

Shakespeare Road

Concern the raised speed tables and hump will cause erratic driving.
Speed tables and humps are a common treatment and there is no evidence they create erratic driving in other locations.
Concern that the raised speed table will be thought of/treated as a pedestrian crossing.
In most countries pedestrians have priority when crossing a side street. Unfortunately this is not the case in New Zealand. However, by using raised tables we reduce the speed of people driving and increase the visibility of people walking promoting acknowledgement and interaction between driver and pedestrian.
Suggestion for a red-light camera on the traffic light crossing right outside Milford School.
Red light cameras need to be monitored to be enforceable and the number of sites is currently capped. The crossing on Shakespeare is one of the priority sites.
Multiple concerns about vehicles driving through the red lights.
This is an issue across the Auckland region. We are working with the New Zealand Police to address this issue.
Request to widen the footpath along the western side of Shakespeare Road. Currently it is 900mm wide which does not meet AT standards.
This section of Shakespeare Road is not currently on the programme for footpath widening. However, we have added your request to the New Footpath Programme Candidate List. Learn more about the programme.
Concern about the width of pavements due to overgrown/overhanging bushes and trees.
This concern has been passed on to the maintenance team to be investigated.

Woodbridge Lane

Concern the speed table on Woodbridge Lane will cause chaos as there is a lot of traffic due to parents picking up and dropping off their children.
From reviewing the use of speed tables in other locations, this is not an expected outcome. However, any safety issue onto the main road will be monitored.
Suggestion that a pedestrian crossing would be better and safer than raised speed tables.
Before opening consultation on this proposal, we had the design reviewed with our relevant internal teams. The review found that in this particular instance, for this low volume side street with infrequent pedestrian use outside of the school peaks, raised tables are the appropriate device to slow traffic and improve safety for pedestrians.
Suggestion for no parking area on the left-hand side at the entry of Woodbridge Lane.
Broken yellow lines (no stopping at all times) will be extended on the left-hand (western) side of Woodbridge Lane to improve visibility. This will result in approximately 2 parking spaces being removed. Please see the updated drawing.

Alma Road

Recommendation to also include speed bumps on Alma Road.
This is outside the scope of this project.

Trevaughn Glade

Concern that a speed hump on Trevaughn Glade would cause more danger instead of preventing it.
The speed hump is to slow drivers exiting Trevaughn Glade and give people walking and drivers time to react at the potential conflict point where drivers cross the footpath.

Other feedback

Concern that this proposal is not necessary as everyone can judge there is an intersection.
The near misses and report from users indicate there is an issue at these intersections.
Suggestion to plant more trees in the area.
This is outside the scope of this project.
Suggestion that the most dangerous area in Milford is actually the corner of Kitchener Road and Fenwick Avenue, where cars take the turn at dangerous speeds and often with restricted visibility due to traffic being stopped at the lights.
This is a minor project is aimed to increase walking and cycling to Milford School. The Kitchener/Fenwick intersection is too large to be addressed through the current funding programme, Safe School Streets.
Concern over cost of the project.
Since last year, we have been in discussion with Milford School on safety concerns along Shakespeare Road. We identified a number of concerns that will be improved with this project. The School is involved in the Safe School Streets programme for this year, and therefore, there is funding for this type of project. You can read more about the Safe School Streets programme and the Milford School project.

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 to add speed tables on side roads near Milford School to improve pedestrian safety and are asking for your views.

The changes we are proposing:

Install a raised speed table on both Stratford Avenue and Woodbridge Lane at their intersections with Shakespeare Road.
Install a rubber speed bump on Trevaughn Glade at its intersection with Shakespeare Road.
Reconstruct the footpath and install tactile pavers, which are yellow guidance paving markers, on the approach to the raised tables.

Download the proposal drawing for Shakespeare Road (PDF 273KB)

After discussion with Milford School we have identified a number of safety concerns along Shakespeare Road. We believe that everyone should be able to move around this area as safely as possible. These changes have been designed to improve pedestrian safety by slowing down vehicles on Shakespeare Road where there are school children using the footpaths to get to school.

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.

Milford: 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 Shakespeare 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).