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Kelston - New Lynn Streets for People Kelston - New Lynn Streets for People

Working with the local community to create safer, healthier, and more people-friendly streets.

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About this project


The Tāmaki Makaurau Streets for People programme aims to make on and off-street changes, designed and delivered with communities, that result in more people choosing safe, low-carbon, active trips.

Streets for People uses an ‘adaptive urbanism’ approach which uses temporary interventions to test live versions of designs with local people in their own neighbourhoods. This approach puts people first, designing and testing with the users of the space affected rather than for them.

The project will use on and off-street interventions, designed and delivered with the local communities. On-street interventions may include testing new street layout changes, wayfinding signage, traffic calming or safer intersections. Whereas these on-street interventions focus on the physical environment, off-street interventions will work to increase confidence and capacity within the community, for example, locally-led group rides, bike skills training, or other community events.

Compared to traditional transport projects, these interventions are low-cost and low-risk, allowing our project team to better understand the wants and needs of the local community before making any permanent changes. All Streets for People projects will be completed by June 2024. 

Auckland Transport’s Tāmaki Makaurau Streets for People programme is a part of the national Streets for People programme led and funded by Waka Kotahi. Auckland Transport was one of 13 successful applicants to this programme which will fund projects in both Kelston-New Lynn and Māngere.

Read an overview of the Tāmaki Makaurau Streets for people programme.

Why Streets for People?

Streets are public places that need to prioritise people, not just vehicles, to make our towns and cities better places to live, play and work in.

Using an Adaptive Urbanism approach means that we can make these changes more quickly, collaboratively, and affordably to meet the growing needs of the Kelston-New Lynn area.

The Kelston-New Lynn Streets for People project has the following aims:

  • Increased Connectivity - More people can get to important locations (such as school, work and community facilities) by walking and cycling.
  • Improved Safety & Wellbeing - There are safer routes for those choosing to travel by foot or by bike.
  • Environmental Impact - Contribute to Auckland’s climate action goals by encouraging more low-carbon active trips.
  • Empowered Communities - Local people are active participants in the process and help shape the improvements to cycling and walking in their neighbourhoods.

Why Kelston - New Lynn?

The neighbouring suburbs of Kelston and New Lynn represent a vibrant and growing area with a high quantity of key locations such as schools, shopping and other businesses across a relatively small area.

The New Lynn Train Station sees, on average, over 3,000 boardings per day, making it the fourth busiest station in Auckland. With City Rail Link due to open in 2024, train patronage will likely continue to grow. There are six schools in Kelston and New Lynn Central, serving almost 2,400 students. With some existing cycling infrastructure already in New Lynn (including the New Lynn to Avondale shared path) there is great potential for cycling to become a key transport mode in the wider area, connecting more people to schools, transport hubs, amenities and further afield.

Kelston-New Lynn has also been selected because of the area’s connection to other current or upcoming projects and investments such as:

Proposed Concept Projects

During the early engagement stage, our project team completed stakeholder mapping, bikeovers, walkovers and initial conversations with partners, community champions and key stakeholders to further understand the local context.

These early engagements with local schools, community groups, and mana whenua have shown high support for the Streets for People project and enthusiasm to be involved. These discussions have led to the development of three potential projects for the Kelston-New Lynn area. These are concept projects, which means that they are subject to change and further development as our engagement with local communities continues.

Kelston cluster of schools

Principals of Kelston schools have identified a number of opportunities to improve safety and encourage walking and cycling within the Kelston schools cluster. They have also identified cycling and walking as a way to enhance the learning and wellbeing of students and staff. Our aim is to support an increase in safe walking and cycling to and from the Kelston schools cluster, through a mix of on and off-street interventions collaboratively designed with the school communities, including students. This project aims to empower students and the school community by enabling them to participate in designing, implementing and assessing changes to physical and social infrastructure.

Navigating to, from & within the New Lynn town centre

New Lynn is a gateway to the west and central city, and many cyclists travel through or live in the area. Cycling infrastructure currently exists in and around the New Lynn town centre, but there is an opportunity to improve the usability of these routes with increased wayfinding. This project will work with the local people to identify tactical wayfinding solutions through group rides, testing and trialling temporary signage, and community activation. This will create a new suite of navigational tools throughout the town centre to better connect users to local community facilities, public transport network as well as other cycleways and shared paths.

Growing awareness and interest in cycling on and around Rimu Street


Rimu Street runs from Kelston to New Lynn and acts as an important connection between not only these two suburbs but the two concept projects detailed above. This project will identify current interest and demand for cycling amongst residents living on or near Rimu Street and increase awareness of existing and upcoming cycling and walking facilities.

How can locals get involved?

Kelston-New Lynn Streets for People is a collaborative project, and as it progresses there will be plenty of opportunities for local people to get involved and have their say.

We encourage you to participate in the project by exploring the temporary changes on bike or foot and providing feedback to our project team about your experience. We are currently aiming to have these changes live for people to explore in the summer of 2023/24. The resulting feedback will influence not just the trials themselves (which will shift and change throughout) but the future of permanent cycling and walking infrastructure in the Kelston-New Lynn area.

You can also connect with our community partners who will be organising events, guided rides and other local activities throughout the project. These activities will test and trial these changes and their potential use throughout the community.

Get in touch with the project team at Streets4people@at.govt.nz for more information on getting involved in Kelston-New Lynn Streets for People.

Streets for People Timeline 2023 -2024

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​​​The Streets for People Programme

The Streets for People programme is a national programme funded by Waka Kotahi which aims to make it easier and faster to create safer, healthier, and more people-friendly streets.

The programme creates opportunities for councils across New Zealand to partner with communities to accelerate street change projects (e.g. walking and cycling improvements, safe routes to school, and road safety). This will help Aotearoa to achieve its emissions reduction goals faster while creating vibrant, people-friendly places for thriving communities.

Learn more about the national Streets for People programme on the Waka Kotahi website.

To receive updates, ask questions or get involved in the Kelston-New Lynn Streets for People project please email Streets4people@at.govt.nz​