Henderson locals 'not happy' with trial to make town centre's streets safer

Tuesday, 8 June 2021

Panuku is facing a backlash from Henderson locals about a trial to make the town centre safer.

Residents and business owners in a West Auckland suburb are up in arms about a council-led trial to increase safety and beautify its town centre.

Panuku’s Henderson Streets for People trial, which began in mid-May and is expected to last until the end of July, has seen a number of “temporary” changes made to roads, including Great North Rd and Railside Ave in Henderson.

These include a traffic flow plan, which would redirect traffic to Alderman Drive; artwork at the intersection of Great North Rd, Railside Ave and Ratanui St; a trial of bus-only lanes; and a trial of “safe shared paths” for people on bikes and scooters.

Planter boxes would be provided for “protection from traffic”.

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Business owner Rob Norcross says the trial has reduced customers visiting his store.

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However, residents have labelled the trial a “nuisance” and say the changes have made the traffic “chaos”.

Henderson resident Sunil Kaushal said the trial has made the town centre a “big nuisance”.

A local business owner, who says he is speaking for more than 80 other local businesses, said he had already noticed a substantial drop in customers and didn’t think some stores would survive the trial.

Rob Norcross of Norcross Fishing World on Railside Ave said he first learnt of the “beautification” project in December.

The first he heard of any changes to traffic was in April through a pamphlet.

Cars will no longer be able to drive along Railside Ave after Stevies Lane in Henderson during the trial.

Norcross provided Stuff with financial reports from May 25, 2020, through to June 6, 2020, and from May 24, 2021 through to June 3, 2021. It showed a 54 per cent drop in revenue – that he believes is because of the trial.

“It’s messing with our livelihoods,” Norcross said, adding there was “nothing broken” with the way the roads were prior.

Sunil Kaushal, who had lived in Henderson for more than 20 years, said there were some elements of the trial that made sense – such as blocking off the right-hand turn when leaving WestCity Waitākere on Railside Ave.

A blue lane for people on bikes or scooters has reduced the number of lanes on Great North Rd in Henderson, causing added congestion.

However, he didn’t agree with the reduced lanes for traffic as it was adding to congestion around the town centre.

It would push people to shop elsewhere, he said: “It’s a big nuisance now.

“People are not happy.”

Planter boxes and a blue lane have blocked the left-hand turn onto Henderson Valley Rd from Great North Rd in Henderson.

Rosanna Leman labelled the situation “chaos”.

In a letter to Panuku, provided to Stuff, Leman said what had been implemented did not make Henderson beautiful.

“It makes us look like the disaster that you designed and that caters to no-one, has reduced business in the immediate area … and is hazardous to driving safety.”

A spokeswoman for Panuku said it held a pop-up shop to engage with locals and receive feedback about what they wanted to see improved in Henderson.

“The input gained has given us valuable insights for the project. In particular, safety measures for pedestrians and cyclists was raised as a key issue.”

Installation of the trial began on May 13, with the final stages expected to be in place by the middle of this week.

“Feedback has been open through the installation period and will continue to remain open throughout the duration of the trial.

“We are aware that there is already considerable feedback on the elements as they have been installed, both positive and negative – the negative mostly around the frustrations experienced by drivers by the roading layout changes.”

The spokeswoman said Panuku hoped the impact would reduce as people became more aware of the changes and used different routes. Improving signage for the public was also under way.

Panuku was also aware business owners had concerns and said it would monitor Eftpos transactions as part of its data gathering.

Panuku said it asked locals to “give the trial a go”.

“Let it run till mid-July, so we can evaluate what is working and what isn’t.”

Waitākere councillor Shane Henderson said the vision for the suburb’s future needed to be talked about.

“I have seen the decline of our main centre first-hand,” he said.

“This is part of a package designed to unlock Henderson, to make people proud to live, work and have fun in the heartland of the west.”

At the end of the trial, the Henderson-Massey Local Board would discuss if changes are implemented permanently, Henderson said.

Lee Burrell, a Glendene resident who frequents Henderson, has organised a peaceful march for Saturday at 10am.

“This is an event to walk the streets of Henderson as a large group to show council what the public really want.

“Sure, it’s great that council is trying to make Henderson a better place, but closing down to one lane and removing side street parking is really not the right way to go about it.”