Glen Innes to Tamaki Drive Shared Path

Auckland Transport (AT) and the NZ Transport Agency are creating a shared path for cyclists and pedestrians from Merton Road near Glen Innes Station to Tamaki Drive – allowing you to walk, run or cycle from Auckland’s eastern suburbs to the Waitematā Harbour. More information here: https://at.govt.nz/projects-roadworks/glen-innes-to-tamaki-drive-shared-path/

Sod Turning

2 August 2020

Photos from the Sod Turning ceremony on 31 July 2020:

Little Sod

18 July 2020

Finally … Section 2 of the GI to Tamaki Dr Shared Path Te Ara Ki Uta Ki Tai is underway with the first sod getting turned on 31 July 2020.  For details of the construction plan see the AT Press Release.

Orakei Local Board Comments to November 2019 Monthly Meeting

26 November 2019

We were fortunate to have the newly elected Chairperson of the Orakei Local Board (OLB) Scott Milne speak at our November 2019 monthly meeting, as well as Troy Churton, Troy Elliot and Margaret Voyce also in attendance. We were keen to hear their thoughts on priorities for Orakei Ward over the three year team ahead. Below is a brief summary of the discussion.

The OLB is in good health with a mix of incumbents and newly elected members. They are in the process of getting up to speed and understanding council systems, relationships and processes.

Some priorities that the OLB outlined for our area:

  1. Glen Innes to Tamaki Drive shared path – this is possibly the toughest job that the OLB faces. They emphasised that it is important that stage 2 is built and not be dependent on stage 4 also being constructed. The Auckland Transport (AT) board has changed with new people in place. Scott emphasised that the OLB needs to continue building a constructive relationship with AT to work together to improve progress. He noted that our successful One Local Initiative (OLI) in the long term plan of the Gowing Dr and John Rymer Place links to the shared path that would connect both sides of Pourewa Valley (and connect kids with their schools) are dependent on the shared path being built. Scott said “The new board is determined not to let go of the bone” referring to the success of securing funding for the links.
  2. Meadowbank Community Centre – the community centre redevelopment is being funded by selling the Victoria Ave old CAB building. This has been completed successfully. The Tahapa Hall will also be sold to fund the redevelopment, but only once the redevelopment has been completed as to provide a venue for groups to use while the construction takes place. Detailed designs are not yet available.
  3. Waiatarua Wetland Reserve – the OLB is keen to complete the Waiatarua Reserve Enhancement Plan and have a clear pathway for future investment in the wetland reserve. They are keen to ensure that it continues functioning as a wetland and that the reserve is used appropriately e.g. that dogs stay out of the wetland areas and that the sediment removal systems do their job. Scott said that there is a lot of space in the reserve and that good, fair and balanced solutions are definitely possible for all those who wish to use the reserve.

Mayor Phil Goff will be visiting the OLB area in late January 2020 to visit the major project sites including the shared path site and the Gowing Drive and John Rymer Place connection sites (funding secured in the OLI) to understand the area and the benefits these projects will bring to the community.

Our youngest residents association member (aged 10) asked a question from the floor about what the OLB intends to do to tackle climate change. Scott noted that the shared path and local links to it would contribute to fewer car trips and also encourage people to take alternative and more active methods of transport. He also emphasised that there is a long list of little things that collectively add up that we can all do to change the way we think and consider more climate friendly options.

What the heck is going on – further delays on GI to Tamaki Drive Shared Path

24 October 2019

Auckland Transport (AT) have released a media statement outlining the process for building Stage 2 (thorugh the Pourewa Valley) and Stage 4 (across Hobson Bay) of the shared path. Most disappointingly, timelines have slipped significantly further and reading the media release there are certainly a lot of “ifs” in the wording that raises a lot of questions – namely what the heck is going on here?!

Five years ago in November 2014 AT organised a public meeting in Meadowbank seeking feedback on the proposal and in October 2015 this was the projected timeline:

In March 2019 we were given the following timeline and we were extremely dismayed at the delays:

As of the latest media release, both section 2 and section 4 are “subject to funding approvals” and no timelines are currently available at all, other than a decision will be made by the end of the first quarter in 2020.

We have watched delayed weeks slip away and turn into delayed years… and more years… Our children are growing up without being able to cross the valley to school, people who were looking forward to cycling to work are retiring, and 3 years after the first section of the shared path opened, it still leads nowhere. How did it get to this? Surely the difficult terrain and design and construction challenges have been well and truly investigated before now?

We have asked everyone we could possibly contact about this but haven’t been able to get any answers on what is going on with the project. It has been especially difficult with the recent election and the Orakei Local Board (OLB) are yet to have their first meeting. We will keep asking questions and seeking answers.

First and foremost we want to see Stage 2 of this path (through the Pourewa Valley) completed and the local links that also provide cross valley access to be constructed. There are many places to go once you’ve reached Orakei Station, but there is no way to get up/down the Pourewa Valley, and no (safe) way to get across the valley. This is why Stage 2 of the path is so important and the reason why the council funding for the local links was successful in the first place – because it provides links to our communities and the shared path from both sides of the valley. Kids can walk and bike to school and college, and Meadowbank Station becomes just a few minutes from Kohimarama. There would be no problems with parking at the station either yay! And we need this path now, not in another five years time, or further way.

We wonder how does the OLB feel about funding the Tahapa Reserve upgrade including spending money on connecting paths that now don’t have anywhere to connect with? What does this mean for the OLB and council funding from the long term plan that was secured to build the local links to the path, providing a route across the valley from Gowing Dr to John Rymer Place? We rely on our elected representatives to advocate for the Orakei Ward and Orakei Local Board area. This shared path and its local links was chosen as their #1 project for funding because it commanded substantial community support and huge benefits. We are relying on them to see this project to completion.

We are looking forward to AT delivering the promised community consultation in October 2019… or if not October, then ASAP. Irrespective of whether the project gets delayed further (heck, we’re used to that by now), there’s no reason not to share the detailed design. The detailed design was sufficiently done in April 2019 to announce construction starting in October 2019, so we just don’t understand what the delay is in getting the information out to the public.

We just don’t think this situation is good enough for our community. Come along to our monthly meetings on Tuesday 12 November and Tuesday 10 December to find out the latest from our elected representatives. You can also email and tell them why the shared path is important to you and your community and ask for more information. Don’t let the construction of this fantastic asset for our community become further delayed or even worse, no secure the necessary funding.

Artists impression of the Glen Innes – Tamaki Drive Shared Path Stage 2, which passes through the Pourewa Valley to the north of Meadowbank

Neighbours Meeting for Stage 2 GI to Tamaki Dr Shared Path

6 May 2019

NZTA held a meeting for those whose properties border the Glen Innes to Tamaki Drive shared path. The meeting was held on Wednesday 3 April 2019 at St Thomas’ Church Hall, Kohimarama. Tim Duguid, the Meadowbank  & St Johns Residents Association’s spokesperson for the GI to Tamaki Drive shared path attended the meeting and his report follows.

Attendees

There were about 6-10 NZTA / AT PR / Community Relations and Project Team Engineers present. The focus of the meeting was for “neighbours” i.e. those residents living in properties backing onto the path. There were up to 10 residents while I was there (7:30-8:00 pm).

Meeting format

Fifty or more A1 colour drawings of the entire route from St Johns Road to the Boardwalk were laid out on trestle tables around the hall. Very impressive. In fact they couldn’t all fit on the tables. Two (or more) of the engineers them had walked the entire route, on surveys and knew it in great detail, which was excellent. Given the focus of the meeting, the sheets showing where the path ran adjacent to properties were prioritised.

Summary of points noted


Project scope / timeline
  1. The detailed design for the route of the path appears complete; some changes may be possible; some aspects such as bridge / handrail / lighting pole design elements were not apparent from the plans presented.
  2. Construction will start in October 2019.
  3. Completion scheduled for 2021 (I believe early 2021).
  4. Only the end-to-end path is in scope: none of the side paths were even shown on the drawings, other than John Rymer Place (JRP), which is shown “greyed out” as a possible construction path, and a possible connection.

Comments on project scope
  1. I asked firstly about JRP. I said it was a key access point and “everyone” was looking forward to it opening at the same time as the path. The NZTA team were at pains to point out that it ran through a Watercare property and was out of scope, and in a different project managed by AT. I said I understood that and let them know my involvement in identifying the potential use of 64 JRP as a northerly access point five years ago (I gave them the name of the engineer who took it on board from which the concept design was drawn up four years ago). Anyway I just wanted to know if the JRP access path project would be coordinated to open at the same time. No-one could / would say of course. I didn’t pursue the point.
  2. I asked if 64 JRP was certain to be used for construction access and was told there was some doubt about that. There is an alternative (longer) possible access route, heading down from the path where it leaves the pony paddocks behind Whytehead Cres. I hope that doesn’t happen, because that would not secure the JRP link in the way that using JRP as the construction access point would secure it: my view being that if a construction access path is built to JRP, it will not be removed.
  3. The guys I spoke to knew nothing at all about the Gowing Drive underpass; had not even heard of it. I later found one person in the team who had. I gave the engineers the background of what I knew, noting that the OLB and AC funds that had been committed. They were interested. They need to know! See design comments below.
  4. By contrast they were aware of the plans for local links at Tahapa Reserve East, Tahapa Reserve West and at Meadowbank Train Station, and noted that these were being planned by others (OLB).
  5. They also knew of the possibility and usefulness of putting in a boardwalk style walking path linking the path to the Kepa Bush trail south west of 53 Thatcher St, to allow access through to Thatcher St at number 35, but said that had been stripped out of scope due to cost overruns and/or budget constraints.

Comments on designs (from East to West)
  1. Notwithstanding that the JRP access being out of a separate project, I asked the engineers if they were familiar with the Watercare site at 64 JRP, including its driveway, layout, rear boundary fence and the ground levels in the bush behind it. One of them was, which itself is encouraging, because these details matter. I asked him if the fence was still broken down, as it was the last time I was down there, when there was a gap which you could get through into the bush. He said it was still there and acknowledged some people were apparently using it. I said I expected lots of people to start using it as soon as the path had got across the train tracks at Tahapa Reserve East and along to the relatively open land roughly level with the eastern end of the cemetery, because at that point, you could safely and easily walk right up to the 64 JRP boundary fence, whether there was an official new path there or not, and of course people would use it because it would be the shortest route by far heading north.
  2. The eastern end of the bridge over the upper reaches of the Pourewa Creek roughly level with 64 JRP (I’m referring here to the main path, not the possible link to it) represents the western limit for construction vehicles accessing from St Johns: up to that point, it’s all concrete and diggers, trucks etc can drive along the route. They can’t cross the bridge, which is of course a suitably lightweight construction.
  3. There were no visuals of the bridge, only the “map” plan views but it looks good from those, curving slightly, on a slight incline, and at treetop height. It should be awesome!
  4. The western end of the bridge becomes another concrete path for a short distance, then a boardwalk stretching some 700 m (roughly the length of the cemetery) to the rail over-bridge at Tahapa Reserve East. The boardwalk will be pretty much identical to the new Orakei Basin Boardwalk, but with wooden handrails. I believe these will be 1.2 m not 1.4 m, but this needs to be checked as again it wasn’t shown in the plans. Along much of this, the ground is sloping below the path from south to north and the path is elevated above the ground, especially on the northern side.
  5. The project team said they will clear privet and exotic weeds and will plant appropriate native species. I encouraged them to do as much of this as possible.
  6. Part way along the length of the cemetery, the path becomes elevated above the level of the tracks (which head downhill somewhat from the tunnel down to Meadowbank Train Station) then ramps up to 7 m above the tracks to clear the overhead wires and down again, but only slightly into Tahapa Reserve East, joining the grassy area to the north of the northernmost clump of trees. This bridge should afford particularly awesome views across the Purewa Creek to the city. As as the other bridge, there are vantage points built out from the path.
  7. At this stage, there is no access planned off the path at the eastern end of the rail over-bridge. I asked if they could allow for a gate in the fence, and steps down to the bush, because people will want to create paths and clear non-native vegetation and plant natives, like the volunteer groups do in Kepa Bush, Pourewa Bush and Selwyn Bush on the northern side of the creek. The guys were sympathetic to this and even if this is out of scope, I suspect may be happy to coordinate with whoever wants to plan this to make sure it could be done, either during or after the project. It’s a big area over there: we need to think about our members might what to do about it, and who to coordinate with (e.g. Friends of Pourewa Valley, Ngati Whatua o Orakei, Eastern Songbirds Project).
  8. The path heads through Tahapa Reserve East as a concrete path and along to Tahapa Reserve West a few metres away from the property boundaries as a boardwalk over the steeply sloping ground, basically clearing a path through where the trees are, rather than along the existing grass path. This keeps the path and streetlights a little away from and below the garden fences. The path is closer to the fences behind Mamaku St and along to Tahapa Reserve West. The PR team reported little or no push back from those residents.
  9. Further along, I was happy to see that the path now heads up the existing Kiwirail construction access track at Meadowbank Train Station, rather than staying in the rail corridor all the way to the Boardwalk. This makes the route to the train station much shorter, as was originally planned. To facilitate this, a new Kiwirail construction access track is planned right at the start of the Boardwalk, opposite the Watercare pumping station. That part of the path will have removable bollards and flashing lights to be used when Kiwirail or Watercare (or other) vehicles need to access it. I think that’s a good idea: keep all the potential vehicle conflicts in one place, where the path is very wide, and there is great visibility and space on either side.

Other comments

The team seemed nervous of residents’ concerns. They are offering new back fences and gates for those who want them and providing reassurance about lighting. I agreed lighting would be a reasonable concern, but I also suggested that anyone on Whytehead Cres or JRP who were lucky enough to find themselves backing onto the path would land a windfall of $ 50k on their property value, because they will have a 5-10 min bike ride or 10-15 min walk to Meadowbank Train Station and an 8 min train ride to Britomart (and 10 mins to Aotea Station in 2024) which was much better than 45+ mins on a bus along Kohi / Kepa / Ngapipi / Tamaki Drive (none of which has any transit lanes). So, the PR team could be bullish about this project and not at all defensive.

I invited the team to contact MBSJRA and present the whole set of design drawings to us (we’d need the conference room). I said we’d love them to present the drawings to us before they started digging, which they agreed to. In the end they were quite keen and agreed to try to find a date before construction.

More Houses, Less Green Space

6 May 2019

The fabulous journalists at The Hobson magazine have uncovered a scoop on the green space on St Johns Rd currently grazed by the Meadowbank Pony Club. The land is owned by NZTA and designated for a motorway. However with this no longer required and under government direction, land not required by Crown agencies must be offered first to the government’s housing agencies. Read more in The Hobson’s article here or you can read the whole issue here.

Tahapa Reserve Upgrade Begins

5 May 2019

The Tahapa Reserve upgrade project has begun. We look forward to the improved play facilities and recreation areas (plans here), as well as the connections to the Glen Innes to Tamaki Drive shared path that is currently under construction.

This project is split into two stages. You can see this distinction in the map below. Stage 1 is represented in blue, and Stage 2 is represented in red.

Stage 1 includes:

  • The construction of a new pathway and play space in Tahapa Reserve West. Construction site access will be from Tahapa Crescent between house numbers 65 and 61.
  • These works will include removing the existing basketball court, and construction of a new half court. A new playground facility is also being constructed. Tahapa Reserve will not be accessible to the public whilst these works are being carried out.
  • A new pathway will also be constructed through Tahapa Reserve East from Harapaki Rd, between house numbers 26 & 28, and includes a small timber boardwalk.
  • We will also be constructing a new pathway between house numbers 25 and 23 on Tahapa Crescent, and renewing the existing access to the reserve from Harapaki Road between house numbers 26 and 28.

The main access for the construction of this section of path will be via the existing maintenance access way on Tahapa Crescent, between house numbers 45 and 41.

Works for Stage 1 began in early April 2019. Stage 1 is expected to be completed by October 2019, pending any adverse weather conditions.

Timeframes for Stage 2 are yet to be confirmed, as these works are contingent on the shared path from Glenn Innes to Tamaki Drive, which is a project under Auckland Transport. Stage 2 will begin once this shared path is constructed.

March 2019 Newsletter for GI to Tamaki Drive Shared Path

12 March 2019

We have received a detailed project update on the Glen Innes to Tamaki Drive shared path and it is a brilliant summary of what is happening with each remaining stages of the project, the challenges the team is working to overcome and also timelines for the remaining three stages. Carmel Claridge, Transport Lead at the Orakei Local Board assures us that updates similar to this will be provided on a regular basis, which are exactly the kind of updates that we have been asking to see for years. Click here to read the four pages of this update. Summary extracts from the update:

Timeline as of March 2019

Images of Proposed Ngapipi Bridge Clip on

Old Timber Decking Finds a Home

Green Light for Tahapa Reserve Playground and Link to Shared Path

26 February 2019

At its business meeting last Thursday the Orakei Local Board approved the Tahapa Reserve Playground concept design and it will now progress to the construction phase. We are very excited to have this area developed into something actually usable for more than dog walking, and for there to be more safe, green space for our children to play and adults to use for picnics and recreation. This playground will also provide an important link to and from the GI to Tamaki Drive Shared Path to other parts of Meadowbank and we like the inclusion of lighting to improve safety for commuters using the shared path. Check out the approved design below. We look forward to construction beginning.