Opanuku Road, Henderson Valley - New footpath Opanuku Road, Henderson Valley - New footpath

Footpath connectivity

• Question as to why this footpath is turning left, and not right to where the school is.
  The footpath connects to an existing footpath to the left on Mountain Road. There is no existing footpath to the right on Henderson Valley Road.
• I appreciate the project, but I think you missed the real need for safe crossing spaces for walking school bus along Henderson Valley Road.
  Crossings are generally installed on their own to connect to existing walking routes. On Henderson Valley Road a gravel footpath only exists on one side of the road; however, your suggestion for additional crossing facilities will be passed along to the appropriate team within Auckland Transport for consideration.
• We need a pedestrian crossing on Henderson Valley Road and Opanuku Road for our school kids and the local community to use.
  A crossing was investigated at this location as part of this project. However, our road safety engineers deemed the location too risky for a crossing due to poor visibility around the curve in the road, and the road having a 70kph speed limit. The option of lowering the speed limit is not feasible within the timeframe that we can build this footpath, which would delay the footpath for quite some time. Therefore, the crossing element had to be removed from the scheme. However, your suggestion for a crossing will be logged with the appropriate team in AT for future consideration.

Bus stop

• The new courtesy crossing leads right into the area where the buses stop, which is not safe.
  Based on this feedback, as well as concerns regarding the extent of the broken yellow lines, we have decided not to go ahead with the construction of this crossing.
  
• There are broken yellow lines where the buses are supposed to stop to pick up kids.
  Thank you for pointing this out. Broken yellow lines have been removed from the proposal.
• The bus shelter once located on the corner of Candia Road and Henderson Valley Road was involved in an accident last year. I've lodged a few jobs for this bus stop to be replaced without success.
  This request will be passed along to the appropriate team to follow-up.

Material

• We have metal, white concrete, exposed aggregate and now a suggestion of asphalt. Can we have some consistency?
  Asphalt is the agreed material to align with the Waitakere area design standards, which is why we have picked this material. I cannot comment on other locations.
• Path will need to be concrete, otherwise bamboo will grow out of the asphalt. This has happened nearby. 
  Asphalt was the agreed material to align with the Waitakere area design standards. Concerns regarding bamboo have been noted and will be passed to the detail designer.
• What material will this be? The plan shows both concrete and asphalt.
  This will be a 1.8 metre wide asphalt footpath.

Broken yellow lines

• The broken yellow lines are positioned where parents pick up and drop off their kids to and from (walking) school buses and so many restrictions have been introduced. This defeats the purpose of having the footpath there in the first place.
  These broken yellow lines were included as a safety requirement, to ensure there is proper visibility around the proposed new crossing. We recognise such extensive parking restrictions would interfere with the walking and driving school buses departing from this location. As a result, we are no longer constructing a pedestrian crossing or painting the associated broken yellow lines at this location.
• The area in front of the bus stop next to the #1 drive is being used by contractors to park machinery overnight. Please don’t put restrictions in place here.
  As mentioned above, we will no longer be painting broken yellow lines at this location.

Surrounding paths/roads

• Henderson Valley Cycle trail to Candia Road is in a terrible state, needs widening too. Can this be addressed?
  Your suggestion for widening the Henderson Valley cycle trail is unfortunately outside the scope of works for this project. However, your suggestion for this improvement will be logged with the appropriate team in AT for future consideration.
• Can we reduce the speed limited to 50kph in Opanuku and Henderson Valley Road Please. It is so dangerous to cross here.
  Thank you for your feedback. As stated above, speed reduction projects take a long time to complete and will postpone the delivery of this footpath. Your suggestion for a speed limit change will be passed to the appropriate team for consideration.
• If there is budget, why not add additional parking around the school instead, and add yellow no parking lines on the opposite side of the school which then would remove the risk of kids having to cross a busy road.
  Your suggestion for additional parking and no parking lines near the school is unfortunately outside the scope of works for this project. However, your suggestions will be logged with the appropriate team in AT for consideration.

Berm

• Please leave the berm in a state which allows for easy mowing by the residents.
  This has been noted and passed on to the detailed design team.
• Please make berm vehicle friendly surface or formalize parking for parents. 
  The purpose of a footpath is to encourage walking rather than driving and parking. Therefore, further parking formalisation is not a part of this proposal.
• Please do not install a footpath and keep the berm green, as this is a rural area and a footpath gives it an urban feel.
  Sealed roads and increases in motor traffic across the Waitakere Ranges have also created urban feelings, as their externalities include noise, pollution and safety risks. Providing for walking reduces the need for driving, so the intent is to reduce the urban feel of this area.