A jovial crowd at a public meeting in East Auckland last night welcomed Auckland Transport's decision not to proceed with a speed bump crossing on a busy six-lane highway.
Pakuranga Rd, also known as Pakuranga Highway, is a 6km stretch of road with three lanes in each direction.
Earlier this year Auckland Transport (AT) proposed an installation of a raised crossing (speed bump) with traffic signals at 176 Pakuranga Rd. It also planned a new pedestrian island crossing on Grammar School Rd, upgrades to pavers and yellow lines, as well as moving several bus stops.
But all those plans have now been scrapped after 90% of people opposed the plan over a four-week consultation period, except for a long-standing plan to reduce the speed limit on the highway from 60km/h to 50km/h.
National's Transport spokesperson and MP for Pakuranga Simeon Brown said it was welcome news after many expressed concern at the proposal.
In August he said putting a speed bump on busy Pakuranga Rd would be "effectively like putting a speed bump on a motorway".
"A speed bump crossing was always going to be a bad idea and the people who use this road everyday knew it and spoke up."
Brown told 1News he appreciated AT took public feedback on board, but thought they should have engaged with the community earlier in the process.
"The local community should feel incredibly proud of their efforts to oppose this speed bump crossing, with credit where it is due to Auckland Transport for taking heed of our concerns."
Representatives of AT who attended last night's meeting also acknowledged none of them lived in the area, Brown said.
"They have certainly acknowledged that they have learnt from this."
Support for Auckland Transport’s proposal was hard to find. (Source: 1News)
Resident, Angela Pullar told 1News a speed bump on the at-times gridlocked Pakuranga Highway would only have slowed down traffic even more and increased nose-to-tail car accidents.
An AT spokesperson said in a statement it appreciates the local interest in the proposed safety project and thanks the community for taking the time to submit on the proposal.
"After extensive public consultation, and listening to all feedback, the decision has been made that the proposed changes will not go ahead at this time.
"AT will monitor this area of Pakuranga Road following the speed limit reduction to 50km/h in January 2023.
"If AT identifies that changes are needed, we will share a proposal with the community and request feedback."
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