Next stage of public consultation is next year

Last week Auckland Transport released the feedback report from 237 submitters who submitted to the Papakura Safer Communities program from earlier this year. 

After workshops and delays (Rail Station and the Papakura Metropolitan Centre) and a few Official Information Act requests to kick things along Auckland Transport have managed to get this far. 

Below is the email sent to submitters while the full report with the ‘next steps’ will be at the bottom of this post. The Papakura Safer Community Program is underway with the Rosehill speed tables being the first of many projects. 

The Papakura Safer Communities feedback report:

Dear submitter,

Late last year, you provided us with feedback on the walking improvements you would like to see as part of our Safer Communities programme. We want to make it safer, easier and more enjoyable to walk around in Papakura and your feedback is helping us to make that happen.

We have collated all of the feedback we received from the 237 public submissions into a report which is now available via our website – https://at.govt.nz/driving-parking/road-safety/safer-communities-programme/papakura/.  

Throughout the course of this year, we have been analysing all of the feedback and our road safety engineers have been making decisions on which areas to focus on and the types of measures we plan to propose in order to meet the project objectives and reflect the needs identified by you and your fellow residents.

The key themes we have identified are:

•   Traffic behaviour         •   Footpaths

•   Pedestrian crossings  •   Personal safety

•   Road layout

The key areas we have identified are:

•                  Papakura town centre            •   Elliot to Beach Road

•                  Clevedon Road to Willis Road             •   Settlement Road

•                  Rosehill*

Key improvements we propose in these locations include:

•                  Footpath upgrades       •   Pedestrian crossings

•                  Intersection improvements      •   Slower traffic speeds

•                  Improved walking connections •   Town centre traffic bypass

* Your feedback has influenced the road safety improvements we recently sought feedback on in Rosehill, Papakura. To learn more, go to https://at.govt.nz/projects-roadworks/reducing-speed-limits/rosehill-papakura-road-safety-improvements/.

Next steps

In around March-April next year, we will provide you and others in the area with the opportunity to provide feedback on the improvements we propose in the wider Papakura area. We will be in touch to let you know when these plans are available for you to comment on. Getting your feedback is important to us before we begin construction which we’re looking to do in 2020-2021. Thank you for your patience and interest in this project. 

Yours sincerely

Auckland Transport

The report itself:

Next Steps

• December 2018 – February 2019: Analyse public feedback on the proposed road safety improvements  proposed for Rosehill, Papakura
• December 2018 – March 2019: Continue to use feedback to develop the safety improvements we would like to make in the wider Papakura area. Further develop draft concept designs
• March 2019 – July 2019: Present draft concept designs to local community for feedback (consultation phase 2). Use public feedback from consultation phase 2 to develop detailed designs
• August 2019 – December 2019: Present draft detailed designs to community for feedback (consultation phase 3). Use feedback to finalise designs for safety improvements
• 2020 – 2021 (dates TBC): Physical works take place
  • Upon completion of physical works: Work with the Papakura community to tell them about the changes and to encourage more walking, especially around schools

As it was one said: slow and steady wins the race(?)