Atkinson Road’s safety upgrade consultation
By Greg Presland
Atkinson Road has been in the news this year. After learning that it had the ninth busiest speed cameras in the country local resident Jennifer Conlon decided that something had to be done. The street is remarkable in that it is home for two primary schools and a pre school and a large intermediate school is immediately adjacent. Every school day many young citizens use the road to get to their particular institution. Safety and speed reduction should be paramount.
Jennifer managed to collect over 1,500 signatures in a short period on a petition requesting that safety be improved. An online petition managed to attract 694 signatures. She ran a very sophisticated and targeted campaign and attracted both print and television attention to the issue. With the help of Paula Kelly Jennifer has worked very hard to highlight concerns that she and many locals have. Every community needs people like Jennifer and Paula.
The petition was presented to the Waitakere Ranges Local Board earlier this year and Auckland Transport responded by arranging meetings of interested persons including representatives from the schools, local MP David Cunliffe, local board members and Jennifer to discuss what could be done.
Two sets of proposals are being worked on. The first involves walking school busses engagement with the schools and is ongoing. The second involves some changes to Atkinson Road’s layout.
The changes to the layout involve the installation of some raised platforms and the creation of islands to reduce a driver’s line of sight. The theory is that if drivers cannot see far ahead they will reduce their speed.
Plans have been released for public comment. If anyone wishes to comment they can make a general comment below or a particular comment can be made on each of the pictures. I will then make sure that the comments are fed into the process. You can also email the Board’s Transport spokesperson Janet Clews here or Urban Solutions who are handling the consultation here or me at my Council email. Please note the consultation ends on November 9, 2012
Copies of the plans follow and the letter to residents can be accessed here. If anyone wants to make comments on particular proposals then this can be done on the particular slide.
Has this been thought out fully by “the powers that be”? as a parent that drives and walks these areas, at peak times (8.15-9, and 2-3.30) the addition of countless yellow lines is not going to impove anything, and one of the most urgent jobs, the intersection of kaurilands/atkinson rd, is only a “possible” intersection upgrade.
I agree Louise. The yellow lines are far too excessive and will disrupt too many parents. I am all for safety enhancements but the yellow lines are too much.
We have lived in Konini Rd for 45years and now take and pick up our grandson who attends Kaurilands School.We pick him up several days a week. Most of the time we walk but on two days a week we need to park nearer the school as we have to be in Blockhouse Bay by 3.30pm for appointments. We also walk round the block most days of the week and most mornings parents drop off at the school and drive off but it is a different story at 3.00pm pick up time. A good many of parents live away from the school like our daughter who lives two and a half kms walk to the school with no buses as transport. I think the powers that be are sitting in their offices with car parks right by and have not given any real thought to this problem of speed in Atkinson Road. We as a rate payers are very angry at the lack of consideration and planning being done on this subject by the powers that be. The area will become more dangerous as parents try to pick up their children.If the council’s concern is speed we understand that the camera on Atkinson Road is out of action at the moment and not going to be replaced for several months would it not be more sensible to have a traffic officer in the area. This would certainly slow traffic down.
Yours sincerely Tom and Sandra McFarland
We live on Daffodil St, approximately 8 houses from Atkinson Road, and were not included in any “letter to residents”. Our children attend Kaurilands School, most days walking to and fro.
I do not consider that the addition of yellow lines will significantly reduce the volume of cars for school pick up/drop off. Very often these car trips are part of longer trips (eg to work, shops, after school activities), or because walking is impracticle due to distance to school, late pregnancy, younger siblings etc etc. What the proposed yellow lines are likely to do is greatly increase the number of cars swinging into driveways for u-turns/drop offs – a traffic manuver which young children are blissfully unaware. The parked cars, and any associated safety issues will remain, just pushed further out into surrounding streets.
The proposed plan will make Atkinson Road LESS usable as a suburban road, which is a very valid function.
I believe that by eliminating virtually all parked cars from Atkinson Rd, the road will appear widener and encourage an INCREASE in speed – particular of those drivers who are speeding in excess at present. Lets not forget that a significant factor in Jennifer starting this process were two or three high speed crashes into power poles/footpaths along Atkinson Road.
Mary Black