Auckland Transport 2 ‘An Auckland Counc Organisation 6 Henderson Valley Road, Henderson, Auckland 0612 Private Bag 92265, Auckland 1142, New Zealané Ph 09 355 3553 Fax 09 355 3650 9 February 2015 Delivered by hand Dear Property Owner/Occupier, Proposed intersection upgrade and bus stop rearrangement — Grey Lynn Shops, Great North Road and Surrey Crescent ‘Auckland Transport is consulting on the proposed upgrade to the Great North Road/Surrey Crescent intersection and the consequential rearrangement of the bus stops in the Grey Lynn ‘Shops on Great North Road. We are seeking feedback from directly affected property owners and occupiers on the proposal from 11 February until 25 February 2015. Please find enclosed a plan illustrating the proposed changes. If you wish to respond please either e-mail me at the address below, or send a letter for my attention to the address below. Why are we upgrading the Great North Road/Surry Crescent intersection and rearranging the bus stops? Pedestrian Safety ‘Auckland Transport's Road Safety team have identified concerns about high speed traffic and pedestrian safety at the Great North Road/ Surrey Crescent intersection. A review of the five year period 2008 to 2012 revealed 17 crashes at the intersection. This includes two serious, four minor injury and 11 non-injury crashes. Rear ending, loss of control on a bend, and collisions with pedestrians were the main type of crashes accounting for 47%, 18% and 18% of the total crashes respectively. There were three crashes involving pedestrians and one of these crashes resulted in a serious injury. All three crashes involved pedestrians trying to cross the intersection on the southern approach where there are currently no crossing facilities. There is sufficient demand for additional crossing facilities at this southern leg of the intersection to provide better pedestrian connectivity. In addition the Great North Road Corridor Management Plan (CMP) is currently being developed by Auckland Transport. This aims determine the most appropriate functions and operations of the corridor across all modes of transport. This includes public transport, cycling, walking and private vehicle use, while considering the corridor's strategic direction and the surrounding land uses. As part of this the CMP is looking at longer term changes that could be required to the intersection of Surrey Crescenv/Great North Road intersection. ‘The proposal this letter outlines does not preclude those changes from occurring in the future, the aim of this proposal is to address the current pedestrian safety issues at the intersection. www.aucklandtransport.govt.nzImproved Public Transport Capacity and Leaibility Auckland Transport’s Public Transport team have also been investigating how to upgrade the bus stops at the Grey Lynn Shops and to increase their capacity. In addition to the changes required by the Road Safety project, there is also a need to relocate the outbound bus on Williamson Avenue (Stop 8894) to allow for a new vehicle entrance for the new fire station. Consequently, Auckland Transport has determined that an upgrade to the entire bus stop layout in the Grey Lynn shops is necessary to address the relocations that are required, provide better bus stop capacity and ensure good connectivity for bus passengers. Parking changes in the Grey Lynn Shops ‘There are a range of on-street parking options available in the vicinity of the Grey Lynn Shops including on Tuarangi Road, Barrington Road, Selbourne Street and Williamson Avenue. Further, recent NZTA research identifies that the reallocation of road space to sustainable transport modes promotes economic viability in local shopping areas. Within the road reserve Auckland Transport gives priority to safely, pedestrian facilities, bus stops, bus lanes, loading zones, traffic flow and cycle lanes over other uses. As such the proposed changes to the intersection and the bus stops take priority over the use of this space for parking. The proposal will result in the loss of short term parking immediately in front of the shops. Overall the proposal will remove 12 parking spaces on Great North Road and Williamson Ave, including one PS space, two P10 spaces, three P60 spaces, and six P30 spaces, What are the proposed changes? Auckland Transport is proposing the following: Pedestrian safety Upgrade the Great North Road/ Surrey Crescent intersection to provide an additional signalised pedestrian crossing on the southern approach to cater for the pedestrian demand. This will result in the loss of approximately three parking spaces on the northern side of Great North Road outside #571. The new crossing also has consequential implications for one of the outbound bus stops (Stop 8116) on Great North Road and it will need to be relocated to accommodate the new pedestrian crossing. Improved Public Transport Capacity and Legibility Outbound (from the city) Bus Stops Removal of the outbound bus stop (Stop 8116) and Loading Zonelafternoon Bus Stop outside 592 to 604 Great North Road to accommodate the new pedestrian crossing. These are to be replaced by No Stopping At All Times (NSAAT) broken yellow line restrictions. Rationale: The removal of Stop 8116 from outside 592 to 604 Great North Road means two bus stops are required to provide for the bus routes that travel outbound from both Great North Road and Williamson Avenue. It is not possible to relocate the entire stop for these outbound services due to the layout of the road network. It is therefore proposed to split up the outbound bus stops. > The extension of the outbound bus stop outside 562 Great North Road (Stop 8114) to 39m to cater for the bus routes that have been displaced by the removal of Stop 8116. www.aucklandtransport.govt.nzRationale: Extending Stop 8114 will cater for one of the bus stops being removed. It will also make it much easier for the Great North Road/Surrey Crescent bus route to get into the correct lane to proceed straight ahead to Surrey Crescent from either the rear or the head of the stop. Currently, at Stop 8116 (being removed), if a bus is at the head of the stop it is difficult for it to get across the traffic to the straight through lane to access Surrey Crescent. It is noted that this movement becomes impossible with the proposed splitter island in place as part of the intersection upgrade. > Relocation of the outbound bus stop from outside 134 Williamson Avenue (Stop 8894) 120m west to outside 144 Williamson Avenue. The relocation of this bus stop is required to accommodate the new fire station vehicle entrance at 134 Williamson Avenue. The new bus stop location will address this need and also provide a replacement for the removal of Stop 8116. It caters well for bus passenger connectivity in the shops and improves the bus stop spacing on Williamson Avenue. Rationale: Relocating Stop 8894 will provide a better outbound bus stop for the Williamson ‘Ave services. Currently, passengers who wish to disembark at the Grey Lynn shops generally do so at Stop 8116. Buses have difficulty manoeuvring into this stop given the right turn from Williamson Avenue, especially when there are other services in the stop. The relocation of Stop 8894, which is required because of the fire station development, will also improve the overall spacing of bus stops along Williamson Avenue. Currently, the previous bus stop is only 200m to the east. By relocating the stop approximately 130m west the spacing will be more in line with Auckland Transport's recommended bus stop spacing and improve the overall efficiency of the bus route. Inbound (to the City) Bus Stops The Public Transport team has previously identified that there was an existing capacity issue for inbound bus stops. > Upgrade the existing inbound bus stop opposite 152 Williamson Avenue (Stop 8897) by installing 5m of NSAAT broken yellow lines at the head of the stop to provide manoeuvrability space for buses pulling into and out of the stop. Rationale: Currently vehicles are parking in front of Stop 8897 opposite 152 Williamson Avenue. This is creating issues for buses pulling out of the stop and means they are often unable to pull up parallel to the kerb and stick out into the traffic lane creating issues. Technically there is not sufficient room for a vehicle to legally park and be 1m clear of the driveway at the head of the stop as there is only 5m before the driveway, where 6m is required. > Extend the bus stop outside 621-531 Great North Road (Stop 8115) to 35m to cater for multiple inbound bus services so that two buses can stop there at any one time, something buses are currently unable to do. The bus stop extension will require the adjacent loading zone outside 521-531 Great North Road to be relocated to the head of the bus stop outside 515-519 Great North Road. Rationale: Currently, Stop 8115 outside 521-531 Great North Road only caters for one bus ata time. However, there are two frequent services that use this stop. Consequently, there have been on-going issues with a second bus double parking and letting passengers off on to the road between parked cars. This is problematic and creates congestion issues on Great North Road. The extended bus boarder also provides a useful way to narrow the wide southbound lane on Great North Road at this point, and will ensure that buses can leave and re-enter the traffic flow easily www.aucklandtransport.govt.nz.How can my feedback influence the final design? For the reasons outlined above, Auckland Transport has already identified that these changes are necessary to improve pedestrian connectivity and public transport facilities in the Grey Lynn Shops. The purpose of this targeted consultation is to find out if there are any land development proposals/issues, or safety issues that may affect the proposed location. As such we are specifically seeking feedback on: > Any land development proposals or issues that may affect the proposed changes > Any site specific safety issues with the proposed changes Other issues raised through the feedback process will be considered where improved pedestrian connectivity and public transport facilities can be enhanced. Please provide your feedback by either e-mailing me on pippa.mitchell@aucklandtransport.govt.nz or by sending a letter to my attention at Auckland Transport, Private Bag 92250, Auckland 1142 to us by 4pm 25 February 2015. When will the proposed changes be implemented? ‘These changes are planned to be implemented in mid-2015. Further information For further information on proposed changes please call me on 447 5482 or email me at the above address. Yours sincerely, dud. Pippa Mitchell | Project Manager Auckland Transport 6 Henderson Valley Rd, Henderson, Auckland 0612 Private Bag 92250, Auckland 1142 www.aucklandtransport.govt.nz