Lack of Auckland parking space could see park and rides become 'kiss and rides'

Thursday, 17 September 2020

Transport Minister Phil Twyford says some of Auckland's most valuable land is being taken up by car parks and he'd like to see park and rides replaced with 'kiss and rides'.

Dedicated “kiss and ride” spaces could be the solution to car park supply issues at Auckland’s bus stations.

Transport authorities hope fast-filling park and ride facilities will become more like “kiss and rides”, where partners drop their spouses off and seal it with a kiss, rather than needing to park.

Transport Minister Phil Twyford made the comment when asked if there were enough car parks at the Albany park and ride to cope with increased patronage as a result of the northern busway extension, due to be completed about 2022.

The northern busway currently goes from Britomart in the CBD to the Constellation station, where buses must then navigate the busy intersection near the start of Upper Harbour Hwy (SH18) to access SH1.

Auckland Transport says there are not enough park and ride spaces to cater for demand.

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Transport Minister Phil Twyford says in future, Auckland’s park and rides could have more of a “kiss and ride” drop-off approach.

The extension will see the busway extended north to the Albany station and include a new station in Rosedale, with the possibility of further extension to the Hibiscus Coast Station in Silverdale in the future.

Twyford said the northern busway project was “probably the most important public transport project we’ve seen in three decades”.

He said a sign of the success of the northern busway was that the park and rides were always full.

Auckland’s park and ride facilities are normally completely full by 8.30am.

In 2017, Stuff reported 85 per cent of park and ride car parks were occupied by 7.30am and they were completely full by 8.30am.

In an attempt to curb poor and illegal parking aggravated by the overflowing park and ride in Albany, which has 1235 car parks, Auckland Transport has installed paid parking in the surrounding area.

Ideally, bus patrons would use local bus services to connect to the station and therefore would not need to park their car, Twyford said.

“If you rely solely on park and rides, then you just actually increase congestion around the stations.

“Ultimately, in some stations you’ll see ‘kiss and rides’, where spouses will drop their partner off at drop off zones.”

Parking would always be an element of bus stations, he said, but Auckland Transport would need to provide frequent connection services to bring people in.

“This is some of our most valuable and expensive land. It’s a waste to devote acres and acres of it to parking.”

The cost of a 25 square metre car park is about $15,000 on the city’s rural fringe and up to $50,000 in urban areas, according to Auckland Transport.

Depending on land factors such as slope, stormwater and ground conditions, construction costs are about $10,000 to $30,000 per park.

Spokesman Mark Hannan said the overall demand for park and ride facilities exceeds what is available.

The organisation said the issue could be fixed by improving feeder bus services or walking and cycling infrastructure.

In July, plans for a new park and ride facility with 131 car parks in Warkworth were finalised.

The park and ride is being funded by the Rodney Local Board, Hannan said.

Plans to redevelop some stations with apartments and office space above them are also being explored.