Posts Tagged ‘bus petition’

Sign our petition to extend the bus network to St Johns Park

21 November 2018

What is the petition about?

Residents in the St Johns Park area are concerned that there is no longer a bus service due to the former #635 route being cancelled with the changes made to the bus network in July 2018. As a result MBSJRA are sponsoring a petition requesting Auckland Transport to alter the bus network to cover the former #635 bus area in St Johns Park. We need your help to ensure that Auckland Transport understands that this issue is important to local residents.

Auckland Transport have shown that they are prepared to review bus routes based on demonstrated support, as shown by the two previously successful petitions set up by local resident Richard Roxburgh and strongly supported by this Association. As a direct result of these previous petitions we now have a bus route to Meadowbank Train Station, on past Selwyn College and St Thomas’ School to Mission Bay. We want the St Johns Park area be included in the new bus network in such a way that residents in this area can also enjoy the bus route that resulted from the previous petitions.

If a bus service in St Johns Park is of concern to you, we urge you to add weight to what we are requesting from Auckland Transport by signing the petition.

How can I sign the petition?

The petition is being circulated and will be available at our monthly meetings on 11 December 2018 and 12 February 2019. You can also download a petition sheet here, print it, sign it (get some friends to sign too!) and post to MBSJRA, PO Box 87285, Meadowbank, Auckland 1742.

Note: MBSJRA undertakes only to use the information that you provide in this form specifically for the purpose of this petition. It will be presented it to Auckland Transport but not shared with any other third party.

What can I do to help?

The next step in gathering signatures is to consider taking the petition door to door but for this we need volunteers please – if you can help by covering your own street or even part of it please get in touch, or even just print a sheet, go ahead and start gathering signatures.

 

Information to consider when signing this petition

The purpose of the petition is to influence Auckland Transport to alter the new Bus Network which took effect in July 2018 so that the St Johns Park area is included in the network in such a way that residents in that area will also have a bus connection with the Meadowbank Town Centre, the Meadowbank Train Station, Selwyn College and St Thomas’ School and to the waterfront at Mission Bay.

There are four reasons for this:

  1. The New Bus Network eliminated the previous #635 bus which means the nearest public transport available to residents in the St Johns Park area is the bus route on St Johns Rd which entails a walk of up to 900m for some residents to the closest bus stop. This walk is a significant barrier to the use of public transport, from the viewpoint that it is time-consuming (the walk to St Johns Rd could take up to 15 minutes) and more importantly, for residents who are elderly or disabled, the walk which is up/down a significant slope is daunting and more so in both hot summer and cold/wet winter weather conditions.
  2. The St Johns Park area includes residents in an older age range and it is felt likely (for reasons of relatively high property values and a more restrictive zoning) that average ages are likely to increase over time. Without convenient access to public transport, residents in this area will effectively be left with no option but to either remain house-bound, to use private vehicles for their whole journey or to park on St Johns Rd or at the Meadowbank Train Station to access public transport. Parking at either of these locations is problematic.
  3. The 635 bus did not provide access to the Meadowbank Train Station meaning the change we are proposing would open up a larger catchment area for public transport by rail as well as providing a public transport link with the Meadowbank Town Centre (including what will be a new Community Centre), Selwyn College and St Thomas’ School and with the waterfront.
  4. Meadowbank Train Station now has even more limited car parking available. Currently commuters are parking on residential streets throughout the day in many of the Meadowbank streets, commonly extending up to the Meadowbank Road / Tahapa Crescent intersection. This may be partially alleviated by a more efficient bus connection.

Bus Stop Proposal for Meadowbank Train Station

19 May 2018

Another quick transport consultation! Most of you will know that over 1,000 residents signed the petition last year to get a bus service to connect with Meadowbank Train Station.

The petition noted that up to 22 car park spaces may have to make way for the bus stop and turn around. But also that just one bus per hour could deliver many more people, resulting in a net saving of car parks. The wider context of course is that on weekdays 100s of cars are parked along every street all the way to Bonnie Brae and Harapaki Street. More people are using the train each year, and whole lot more are likely to in five years’ time when the CRL opens, bringing Midtown, K Rd and Grafton closer to Meadowbank by train that they are by bus from the Meadowbank Town Centre.

Hence our support for the bus service. And for that matter, our support for better cycling / walking links to the station, not least from Gowing Drive! Besides parking hassles, one of the reasons we think the bus service will be popular for locals is because using the bus to the train station will be free from Meadowbank and St Johns if you also use the train.

Below is AT’s detailed design proposal for the bus stop and turn around. As you can see, the plan is for a bus stop and shelter right at the train station entrance, which we think is great. This makes for the shortest, flattest connection between the bus and train which is important for less able bodies, and allows the bus driver to see the trains on the platform. So buses shouldn’t inadvertently leave the stop just as a train pulls in!

The plans remove 21 car parks. They provide a number of time-restricted spaces for drop-offs and pick-ups, which is not always easy today without using nearby residents’ driveways (hardly ideal). The three car parks on the left hand side of Manapau Road have to go to allow the bus to swing around to the stop. These have been replaced with three new time restricted car parks opposite, at the island with the trees. Thanks to Orakei Local Board rep Carmel Claridge for that particular improvement 

But are there any other improvements that you could suggest? Can we squeeze another car park or two back in? Is there the right amount of parks in the pick up zone? Are you concerned about the possible loss of the trees, due to the new footpaths on the island? We think if the tree has to go, then it should be replaced with a new one. Or maybe the whole island could be replanted, saving on mowing costs?

*Closing date is this Monday 21 May 2018*

We haven’t been advised of a specific web page for this consultation, so please use the AT online feedback form: https://at.govt.nz/about-us/contact-us/feedback-form/ Select > “Making a suggestion” About > “Something else” and put “Meadowbank train station bus stop, Purewa Road” at the top of your comments. Or simply add comments on our  and we’ll work with the OLB make sure these get to AT.