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St George St, Papatoetoe - Pedestrian crossings St George St, Papatoetoe - Pedestrian crossings

Proposal status: closed 20 July 2018

Reference number: MIP1718-302

We're proposing changes in your area

We are proposing to install new pedestrian crossings at the intersection of Kingswood Road and St George Street and the intersection of Wilmay Avenue and St George Street.

Why the changes are needed

There are no pedestrian facilities along the length of St George Street from the existing signalised pedestrian crossing at 263 St George Street through to the zebra crossing located on the roundabout at the intersection of Carruth Road. A recent fatal crash, involving a pedestrian crossing the road near to Kingswood Road, highlights the lack of safe crossing facilities on this busy road. This new pedestrain crossing will improve pedestrain safety in the area.

Location 1 – Wilmay Avenue

We are proposing to install a new zebra crossing on Wilmay Avenue and a new pedestrian refuge island on St George Street. These changes will include kerb extensions and associated Broken Yellow Lines to ensure a safe line of sight for both pedestrians and vehicles. The new parking restrictions at this intersection will result in a total loss of 12 car parking spaces. We will also be removing the bus stops on St George Street outside 212 and 221 St George Street as the bus service no longer operates in this area. 

Download the proposal drawing for Wilmay Avenue (PDF 1.6MB) 

Location 2 – Kingswood Road

We are proposing to install a new zebra crossing on Kingswood Road and a new pedestrian refuge island on St George Street. These changes will include kerb extensions and associated Broken Yellow Lines to ensure a safe line of sight for both pedestrians and vehicles. The new parking restrictions at this intersection will result in a total loss of 15 car parking spaces.

Download the proposal drawing for Kingswood Road (PDF 1.7MB)

Proposal outcome

This project will proceed without changes to the next stage of detailed planning. A summary of the community feedback we received and answers to questions and concerns is below.

Feedback received

  • Concern that kerb buildouts will cause additional congestion for entering St Georges Street. These refuge islands are needed for pedestrian access and safety and following our investigations we believe they will have a minimal impact on traffic movements.
  • Concern that the zebra crossings are too close to the intersections and will be dangerous for pedestrians to use as cars enter Wilmay and Kingswood avenue at speed. The zebra crossing will be on raised tables which will prevent traffic from speeding.
  • Respondent is concerned that the proposed pedestrian refuge islands would not be safe for pedestrians to use at their current locations on St George Street. The refuge islands meet our standards, and the proposed parking restrictions will improve visibility around the crossing.
  • Suggestion for a raised crossing instead of a pedestrian refuge island, located closer to Carruth Road. The crossings are planned at regular intervals along the length of St George Street and together provide a raised level of amenity for people walking.
  • Request for the pedestrian refuge crossing should be located closer to Kingswood Road. Moving the pedestrian refuge closer to the intersection of Kingswood Road is not possible due to the location of driveways and the need to maintain vehicle access to neighbouring properties.
  • Concern that the raised zebra crossing and kerb buildouts on Kingswood Avenue would make it difficult to manoeuvre when towing a boat and would like a flat crossing instead. The raised zebra crossings on the side roads simply need to be negotiated at a lower speed and will not make the intersection any more difficult to negotiate for vehicles towing trailers or a boat.
  • Request that traffic lights at Wilmay Avenue be considered as an alternative to the pedestrian refuge island. The intersection at Wilmay Avenue is similar to other side roads with a give way control, signalising this intersection is not justified for the current mix of traffic and pedestrians numbers. The mid-block crossing provides a safe facility for people to cross the road in two stages.
  • Request to have the speed limit lowered to 40kmh. Speed reduction is not part of this project.
  • Request for a ‘No right turn’ when exiting Wilmay Avenue onto St George Street. Our investigations have found little need to restrict right turning traffic out of Wilmay Road.
  • Request for the parking restrictions opposite Kingswood Avenue be extended from 40 metres to 60 metres as they believe a greater line of sight is required due to the speed of traffic. Visibility has been checked and the proposed parking restrictions meet the required length for a safe crossing. Whilst investigating and planning a number of factors are considered such as the pedestrian crossing distance and speeds of vehicles.
  • Suggestion that a clearway on St Georges Street be introduced during peak hours. A clearway to enable two lanes of vehicle traffic is not being considered for St George Street.

Next steps

This work will happen in between September 2018 and 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.