Getting broken yellow lines painted on your street

We use broken yellow lines to:

• manage parking on our roads
• keep cars and pedestrians visible to others
• make narrow roads safer and more accessible by preventing parking on one or both sides of the road
• make difficult turns easier, like how they're used at bus stops to make access easier for buses.

How to request broken yellow lines

You can request broken yellow lines on our website if you think they're needed on your street.

If you want to complain about a vehicle parked on broken yellow lines, call us on 09 355 3553. You'll need the registration number and location of the vehicle when you call.

What happens after you request broken yellow lines

This process can take up to 4 months.

How we first review your request

When we get your request, we review:

• the location
• its safety record
• any other conditions.

Why your request might get declined at this stage

We usually install broken yellow lines to address a safety risk. We receive more than 1500 requests to install broken yellow lines every year. Not every request is successful. 

You can read The types of requests we get for more about why your request might have been declined.

What happens next if we approve your request

If we can see that broken yellow lines are needed at the place you requested, we engage with the local community. This is to make sure affected people have an opportunity to give feedback on the proposal.

How we engage with the community

We send letters to nearby residents. The letters explain the reasons for the proposal and include a drawing of the markings.

After we read the feedback, we may either go ahead without changes or assess the proposal further.

How we make the lines legal and enforceable

The proposal then goes to the Traffic Control Committee (TCC) for approval.

You can read about the decision-making process in Traffic and parking controls.

The lines are painted

If approved by TCC, the broken yellow lines are panted on the road.

The types of requests we get

Over driveways

Parking is not allowed within 1 metre on either side of a driveway whether or not broken yellow lines are painted. They're not the most effective use of resources so we would not normally paint them there.

We can paint them in industrial areas where trucks need room to turn safely.

Near intersections

Parking within 6 metres of an intersection is illegal whether or not broken yellow lines are painted. Parking here can reduce visibility for road users and restrict the movement of vehicles. 

Broken yellow lines are not needed to enforce this restriction. They're not the most effective use of resources so we would not normally paint them there.

In some cases, they may be marked at these locations to reinforce to drivers that they cannot legally park there. 

Too many cars from a new housing development

New developments mean more cars on the road. Developments are approved by Auckland Council through the resource consent process. Council is responsible for taking the impact of new developments in to account during the resource consent process.

Sometimes there is not enough space to park the cars from a new development. If this happens, we get Auckland Council to check if broken yellow lines were required in the resource consent conditions. If not, we consider the safety of the site to decide if they're necessary. 

Narrow roads

Parked vehicles can reduce a road to a single lane. This can discourage drivers from speeding and encourage greater care when driving. In some cases, broken yellow lines can take this away and make the road less safe.

We look at site conditions and safety risk to find out if broken yellow lines are needed. 

Giving better access to rubbish trucks

If rubbish trucks are having trouble getting through, we'll work with Auckland Council to check for any safety concerns and decide if broken yellow lines are necessary.

A common example is broken yellow lines at the end of a cul-de-sac to let rubbish trucks turn safely.