'Over the top' plans for St Heliers speed bumps scaled back after public backlash

Monday, 12 October 2020

A video overview of AT's original plan which would have created 13 new pedestrian crossings and removed 40 car parking spaces in the St Heliers town centre (Video first published April 10, 2019).

“Excessive” and “over the top” plans for 12 speed bumps in an Auckland beachside suburb have been scaled back after public backlash.

Auckland Transport (AT) wanted to remove 40 car parks around St Heliers’ busy Tamaki Drive to make way for the raised road crossings as part of plans to improve road safety.

But the plans were met with community uproar.

Eighteen months later, and as a result of “negative response from hundreds of St Heliers locals”, AT is now seeking feedback on a new proposal.

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Peter Jones, chairman of the St Heliers Business Association, feels the new proposal improves safety but still leaves St Heliers a “vibrant, fun and easy” place to visit (File photo).

That plan will see no loss of car parks and the number of raised pedestrian crossings has been reduced to just two.

There may also be four new zebra crossings within the village and some small bus stop changes to make outdoor dining less affected by bus fumes.

A wider and longer shared path on the seaward side of Tamaki Drive would also make it easier for cyclists, those with push chairs and wheelchairs to get around, AT said.

Artists impression of revised St Heliers village improvements.

Randhir Karma, AT’s group manager network management, said it had formed a working group with local groups to deliver improvements to the area.

“In working alongside these community representatives for a number of months, we have shaped a new proposal which we hope better reflects the needs of the local community, but which also meets our safety objectives.”

Mike Walsh, acting chairman of the St Heliers and Glendowie residents’ association, said AT had “very seriously modified” the original proposal and locals were happy with it.

“We’ve got a good result. AT has listened and consulted properly, which it wasn’t doing before,” he said.

“It all means local residents and visitors can continue to use the village as they do now.”

Ōrākei Ward councillor Desley Simpson said she was “most happy” AT had changed the way it goes about the consultation process as a result of the St Heliers proposal.

“They realised ‘this is what we’re going to do. We’re going to talk to people about it’.”

Peter Jones, chairman of the St Heliers Business Association, said the new proposal was a “pretty good outcome for everybody”.

He felt the new proposal would improve safety but still left St Heliers a “vibrant, fun and easy” place to visit.

“The new journey to get here has been good. The old journey was not good, like a train wreck.

“But AT have listened, they have changed and realised they got it wrong.”

Feedback on the new proposal was open until November 2.