Glenora Road Station Dead in the Water

Written by Ben Ross - Talking Auckland

Auckland Transport wants Tironui Instead

 

Glenora Road Station, Park and Ride, and Bus Interchange
Glenora Road Station, Park and Ride, and Bus Interchange

 

Recently I mentioned that Auckland Transport were in favour of reopening the Tironui Station rather than the Glenora Road Station next to the new Takanini Village. You can see that post here: Glenora Road or Tironui?

Sadly I have been informed since then that the Takanini Village developer has since sold the land off that would have facilitated the Glenora Road Station. A Station the Developer was willing to build (so essentially free to the City). Reason? Fed up with Auckland Transport jerking him around especially over AT trying to charge him $28m for the Walters Road Level Cross Grade Separation (which is notorious for accidents and deaths) something Auckland Transport should be doing or more to the point should have done a long time ago.

 

I see this as a real shame as the community, developer, businesses, the Local Board and the Ward Councillors all wanted Glenora Road Station (with Takanini ultimately closing) but Auckland Transport in a rather true to form (even with their supposed modelling) do the absolute opposite. Glenora Road Station with its bus stops, kiss and ride, cycle parks, and park and ride would have been both a commuter and destination station. Tironui will only be a commuter station with no bus stops, and a rather small park and ride (if we are lucky) thus to be honest rather underwhelming in its job as a rail station. And it is a station I will never use despite being near by. Glenora I would have used but not Tironui. So looks like it will be Papakura Station always for me when commuting north.

Auckland Transport would say their numbers and catchments would better with Tironui rather than Glenora. I call them on that with Glenora providing the more effective catchment providing Takanini was closed and if needed another station open at Spartan Road (providing AT finally close Te Mahia).

Your catchment circles are usually like this at a full facilities station such as Glenora Road would have been:

  1. Walking: typically it is 800 metre radius but you can easily push it to 1000 metres
  2. Cycling: Typically 2km for your average cyclist
  3. Shuttle buses: 2-5km radius providing your frequencies stack up
  4.  Park and Ride: unlimited

The shuttle bus radius would have captured everyone in the former Takanini Station area plus extras such as Conifer Grove, large tracts of Porchester and Walters Roads, and areas along the Longford Park Drive on the western side of the Great South Road. Something the proposed 371 (starting next year and subject to review to capture Conifer Grove) would have done

However, as a result Auckland Transport has pretty much condemned a lot of people who enjoy Takanini Village to drive and add to the chronic congestion in the area already as there will be no station and in effect no 10-15 minute frequent shuttle buses passing through going to and from Glenora Road Station. The 365 and 371 (in its current form) buses on the new network (from mid next year) effectively go nowhere near Takanini Village with the nearest buses on Porchester Road leaving you a bit of a maze of a walk to get to Takanini Village.

That said the 371 will touch the northern end of Takanini Village once the Addison and eastern Future Urban Zone flanking the western side of Cosgrove Road is full developed (a few years out at least). So the 371 would have been the closest to a feeder Takanini would have had feeding into Glenora Road Station after Takanini Station closed. The 371 would have also been reviewed to cover Conifier Grove once the Manukau Golf Course development was completed. So again the closest thing for a feeder to Glenora Station AND Takanini Village. Hence a shame AT have jerked us around with Glenora Station as it had so much to offer compared to Tironut. More here: https://at.govt.nz/media/309600/4-Final-New-Network-Map-for-Implementation-2015-changes-explained-.pdf and here on the new bus routes: https://at.govt.nz/media/309604/3-New-Network-South-Auckland-Consultation-Summary-Report-New-Network-South-Appendix-2.pdf

 

We are meant to be the World’s Most Livable City. Someone forgot to tell Auckland Transport that.

Source: http://www.elocal.co.nz/Back_Issues~Area~PAP.html