Auckland Transport (AT): James Wickham, Siobhan O’Donovan, Shane Bradbury
ATTENDEES 22 CLG members attended in person: Julie Fairey, Kathleen Eagle, Kelvin Lau, Alex Bonham, Richard Northey, Marianne Schultz, Brian MacCormack, Clara Puglia, Brent Kennedy, Richard Bull, Masina Maher, Roscoe Tait, Christine Tait, Steve Wilson, Diana Rutherford, Martin von Zonneveld, Christine von Zonneveld, Peter Joyce, Graeme Easte, Kieren Sparks, Sarah Trotman, Tim Burnett.
Agenda:
CLG MEETING MINUTES
1. Welcome and overview:
Helga Sonier, the Community Manager welcomed attendees to the meeting and opened with the Link Alliance Karakia. Helga introduced the agenda and the presenters for the evening.
She requested that Q&A for each speaker occur at the end of each presentation.
2. Dynamic testing update:
Train testing has been underway for three months.
Tests have covered clearance, speed, noise, and vibration.
Headway tests measuring how long it takes and how many trains can travel sequentially have just begun.
The testing format is currently three days of running trains, three days of addressing learnings, making changes, and adaptations.
The current dynamic testing programme will run until the end of July.
Testing will then focus on the other functional elements within the tunnels e.g. testing of ventilation system (TVS) in July, signaling systems, inspecting tracks and hardware, communications and lighting systems.
3. Auckland Council update:
Barry Potter presented an update from Auckland Council, including information about a review of the development plans for the land surrounding Maungawhau Station.
Barry provided the meeting with context of the review by outlining the history of oversight development planning for the stations.
This review will look at the best way to take the sites to the development market, to secure maximum revenue from the sale of the land and realise the full potential of the CRL project.
Progress so far involves:
Establishment of four workstreams – development, access & transport, engagement with community (Joel Rowan) and delivery (Simon Lough).
CLG MEETING MINUTES
Outcome of this review will be presented to the Minister and Mayor by the end of July.
Questions & Answers
1. Will the Maungawhau urban realm be a specific agenda item at the Ministerial/Mayoral meeting in late July?
o Yes.
2. Did Auckland Council and Eke Panuku miss a trick when they did not identify this Maungawhau Station area as a priority location? Will this new process speed up or change this?
o One of the prime drivers behind this review process is for this area to become a focus.
3. Why has there been such a significant delay from the Council when it comes to planning this development?
o To progress, Eke Panuku needed to have something to take to market and until now, this area has been an active and changing construction site. There has been engagement with developers about the area, and now that the site development areas are clearer, these discussions can progress.
4. The Connected Communities programme had been introduced by Council to help improve urban realm around the city, but then the programme was cancelled. Are we going to see this programme picked back up so we don’t have to start from scratch, and will there be green spaces in the development plan?
o Green spaces are recognised as very important; the question will be how we create and maintain this before development begins.
5. The development plans are currently limited to land that council owns. Will Council reverse this stance and create a plan that considers the whole neighbourhood, not just the Council owned land?
o The focus will be on CRL/ Council land.
6. We’ve been talking to all the Council Controlled Organisations (CCOs) for many years, as our intention is to ensure this project becomes a positive thing for Uptown. The Uptown Business Association (UBA) has been the glue for this precinct providing the vision for the area. We want bigger social value from this project - we know how people move around the precinct; we want to see genuine engagement with our organisation.
CLG MEETING MINUTES
o Your message to Council is clear – we need to deliver something that delivers for the area and the community. If you feel we’re not engaging with the UBA please let me know directly.
7. Are you confident of the systems behind this review process? Is there room for local ideas? How can we get involved?
o We have a programme director to work across the workstreams including a specific community and stakeholder engagement workstream.
8. You’re talking about engagement through the entities that the locals, including UBA, don’t have faith in. Why not engage directly with these local bodies and entities?
o That’s not an outrageous idea but may be difficult to implement given the timeframe. But I agree there are some excellent examples of this direct collaborative approach already operating in Council, such as our emergency recovery space for example.
9. Good to know that a plan is being made, but is there going to be a plan for these open spaces in the interim, before development begins?
o Yes, that is the intention, it is a very big site, it won’t be a ‘superb’ or substantial activation initially but there is scope for temporary activation, pop-ups etc.
10. My question is around budget, which workstream will this sit with and how much has been allocated?
o I don’t have this level of detail; this is still being resolved.
11. Beyond being a fun space, there are policing and safety issues… how will it be made safe? Is it covered by police, could we have a local constabulary?
o Agreed, yes safety is a key part of the consideration.
12. Would like to see future development considered in line with how the area is developing already. With the emerging residential and business areas and the hospitality and entertainment areas closer to Symonds Street.
o This will be considered as part of the future development.
13. How would people continue to communicate with you?
o Email addresses were shared Barry Potter barry.potter@aucklandcouncil.govt.nz Or his Assistant Keryn Duff keryn.duff@aucklandcouncil.govt.nz
CLG MEETING MINUTES
14. As Link Alliance’s work concludes, is there scope to continue this Community Liaison Group (CLG)?
o Yes definitely, as Link Alliance becomes less involved, partners such as and Auckland Transport and Auckland Council will step in.
15. Where does AT’s jurisdiction start and end in terms of the Maungawhau Station precinct?
o The station and forecourt and roads would be AT, developers as they come on board, will take over responsibility for land, Council will be responsible for green space initially, then potentially working with developers.
16. Has there been any consideration around the possible need for Council to initially take a loss on the land sales? For example, the first developer in place will be trying to sell its apartments while surrounded by a construction site.
o This will depend on how we go to market e.g. a single developer consortium, or a multi-developer. Also, payments are usually spread across the course of the project to recognise the increasing ‘value’ of developing land.
4. Maungawhau Station fit out & facilities update
The area around the station is being cleared, removing the spoil shed and other structures.
Works are progressing on the threshold of the station building including cladding, basalt wall tiles and the waterwall is being tested.
The ticketing office, toilets, and ticketing machines have also been installed.
On the platforms things are starting to look finished, with digital signs and seating in place.
Questions & Answers
1. Ruru Lane looks very narrow and doesn’t seem to flow?
o It is wide enough for use as access road for service vehicles and follows the line of the tracks to connect with Mt Eden Road.
2. Is there shade/ shelter planned between Mt Eden and the station?
o No, that is not part of Link Alliance delivery, but this will be covered in the Council review process currently underway.
5. Urban realm and utilities update
Ngahura Street - almost complete including planting, lighting, line-markings to be finished by the end of June.
CLG MEETING MINUTES
Nikau footpath connection - landscaping is on track for the end of June; streetlights are on.
Nikau/Ruru/Korari – final surfacing, footpaths, line markings and signage are almost finished.
Station frontage awaiting signage, otherwise planting and seating will be done by end of June.
Nikau/ Flower/Shaddock – final surfacing, streetlights, line markings completed by end of June. Over July some small curb & channel touch-ups and the installation of the road barrier at the top of Flower Street above the portal.
Ruru Lane – finished.
Mt Eden Road – traffic signals installed and working, bus lane ‘greening’ by end of June, final touch-up of the Mt Eden Road footpaths will follow the Life Church demolition at the end of the 3rd quarter.
Questions & Answers
1. What is going in on the land between the end of Shaddock and the new Korari Road loop? A walkway or green space?
o This is part of the area under review by the Council.
2. Can Ruru Lane be opened earlier?
o Not while Link Alliance is currently working on site, but this is something AT will be able to respond to later.
6a. Auckland Transport signage strategy
Working on signage development strategy.
Looking at decision points for how people navigate around the catchment area.
The style of signage will be included in the Council review.
Round signs for pedestrian maps, square signs for vehicle zone maps.
The purpose of most of the signs is to direct to places of interest within a 5 min walk of the station, as opposed to directing people into the station.
Meetings have occurred with UBA to review primary, secondary, and tertiary destinations.
From these meetings AT have agreed to add icons to indicate where dining, retail and entertainment zones are and have also added Basque Park as a ‘primary’ destination.
Landmark streets have also been discussed and agreed, and AT are looking at incorporating ‘Uptown’ into Nikau St signage in recognition of this street’s role as a main thoroughfare to the Uptown precinct.
CLG MEETING MINUTES
Questions & Answers
1: Where will the signs be positioned next to Fenton Bridge?
o To the left, on the station side of the stairs, the footing is already in place.
2. Will the maps show a clear and consistent format in relation to North?
o Maps in public realm will be ‘heads up’ maps except on the rare occasion when it will need to be ‘north up’.
6b. Auckland Transport road marking and parking layout
By the end of June, final road and parking marking will be in place in the streets around the construction site.
These streets will be marked as predominantly ‘no parking’ with yellow dotted lines, except for a section of street parking (12 spaces) on Nikau Street.
These spaces will initially be installed as ‘unrestricted’ parking. These spaces will be monitored by AT over a three-month period. Following this monitoring period, time restricted signage will most likely be installed.
Residential Parking Permits will not be applicable in this area.
These parking areas will be reviewed again once the station is open.
Questions & Answers
1. Are you confident that the community has fed back and the resolution for this parking plan can now be moved by AT?
o Yes, noting that community feedback has shown that there is a preference for time restricted parking.
2. Can we commence the consultation process for the Shaddock/ Flower Street parking?
o There will is no change to Flower/Shaddock Street parking, it will remain as it was before construction.
7. Community update:
Stakeholder site tours have been undertaken across May and June including the following groups; Frequency x 3 groups, Worth & Douglas x 2 groups, Discovery/Mediaworks, CLG members x 2 groups, 10 Flower Street.
Our Perimeter tour in June was well attended, these tours will move to bimonthly with the next tour taking place in August.
CLG MEETING MINUTES
Regular communication initiatives with our community have included our monthly newsletter, weekly works notification updates, and social media posts.
We have continued to contribute to CRL communication initiatives, celebrating construction milestones such as our waterwall installation and commissioning, spoil shed removal, Mt Eden Road resurfacing and urban realm updates.
On conclusion of the community update, the community manager closed the meeting.
