Road works are starting on Monday 28 May at the St Johns Road / Meadowbank Road intersection. The work is being done ahead of the roll out of the New Bus Network on 8 July, to enable the new #782 bus route to turn left from Meadowbank Road into St Johns Road.
Unusually, there was very little consultation by AT about these changes, which we think are pretty significant.
As part of the works, AT have said that the unsignalised free left turn by the BP petrol station will be closed. We welcome that: finally there will be a traffic light controlled pedestrian crossing all the way across the road, in a location that’s very heavily used by school students of all ages.
There will also be changes to the kerbs and channels on the opposite side of road, outside the bakery. We’re not so keen on that, or some of the other details. We understand the bus has to be able to turn, but in our view, what’s proposed goes against the objectives of the Corridor Management Plan for Remuera / St Johns Road, that we were consulted on back in 2015.
Needless to say, we’ve written to AT to encourage them to engage with us on this issue. We asked them to limit any increase in the road width of St Johns Rd; instead using this as an opportunity to create a ‘gateway’ to the Town Centre, in a way that contributes to a slower speed environment, and to avoid, if possible, any loss of car parking, which we consider vital to the businesses located on St Johns Road.
In our letter, we noted that from our surveys, residents want our Town Centre to be a better place, as well as a functioning transport corridor, and we offered to work with AT to review opportunities in this area. If you’ve been following what’s been going on in Grey Lynn, you’ll know how ugly it can get when consultation is done badly; but also how with a bit of creative thinking and genuine community engagement, great outcomes are possible.
We’re planning to workshop some of this at our next meeting. Watch this space!
Meanwhile, watch out for all the cones and construction work (and workers!) and maybe allow yourself a couple more minutes if you commute through this way!