Cnr Puni Road and Beresford Street
SAFER ROADS FOR
Franklin district Auckland Transport has proposed a number of improvements to several Franklin roads some of which are underway; others are in the pipeline.
PUNI ROAD PEDESTRIAN IMPROVEMENTS Motorists and pedestrians will benefit from improvements to Puni Road with a proposed raised zebra crossing outside 9 Puni Road. Side islands south of Beresford Street, on the approach to the raised crossing will help increase awareness of the crossing. There are also plans to install a pedestrian crossing on the west end of Beresford Street with a traffic island in the centre of the road. Pedestrians would not have the right of way at this crossing; rather the island is designed to make it safer to cross the road by breaking up the journey. Grass berms on the corners of Puni Road and Beresford Street will be widened and new broken yellow lines (no stopping at all times) will be painted to maintain visibility. This will result in the loss of 14 parking spaces on Puni Road and four parking spaces on Beresford Street. Feedback on these proposals was being considered in late 2021 with Auckland Transport still to decide on the best way to move forward.
RAISED TABLE CROSSING AT WOODHOUSE PATUMAHOE ROADS
Plans to provide a safer walking route for school children in Patumahoe include upgrading the existing pedestrian refuge
38 — Design and Build Franklin — 2021-2022
crossing to a raised zebra crossing near Patumahoe Village, providing residents with a safer crossing point on Woodhouse Road. Improvements will also include new road markings to warn drivers of the presence of pedestrians and the installation of broken yellow lines (no stopping at all times) parking restrictions to ensure visibility for drivers. Initially, work here was scheduled to start by July 2020 however, due to the impact of Covid-19 the project did not go ahead as planned. It was later forecast to start during the 2021-2022 financial year.
CAPE HILL PROPOSED CHANGES Upgrading the Cape Hill, Reynolds, and Franklin Road intersection to a roundabout in Pukekohe comes in response to a series of collisions at this intersection. The roundabout aims to improve safety by directing traffic in one direction and encouraging lower speeds. Proposed changes include a new traffic island, new pedestrian islands with connecting footpaths and kerb ramps and new signs and grass berms.
WAIAU PA SAFETY IMPROVEMENTS By late 2021 planning work was underway to improve the safety of people, in particular school children, crossing the road outside Waiau Pa School on Waiau Pa Road.
The changes were in response to concerns raised by Waiau Pa School and the community regarding high driver speeds and the lack of a safe marked crossing at this location. After reviewing public feedback, Auckland Transport decided to upgrade the existing pedestrian crossing (outside Waiau Pa School) to a raised zebra crossing. Nearby footpaths will be widened and tactile pavers installed – these are yellow guidance markers to help visually impaired people find their way to the crossing and cross the road safely. Bus stop markings on each side of Waiau Pa Road, (outside Waiau Pa School) will be formalised and will include new bus stop parking restrictions. Kerb ramps and tactile pavers will be installed and footpaths widened on either side of Mackenzie Road at the intersection with Waiau Pa Road. Broken yellow lines parking restrictions will be extended along the southern kerb of Mackenzie Road, around the corner to the edge of the proposed raised crossing on Waiau Pa Road. This will see the removal of five parking spaces to improve visibility for people crossing the road. The mobility space will be relocated and a P180 (maximum 3 hours) mobility parking restriction outside Waiau Pa School will be implemented. New streetlights, signs and road markings were also in the plan. These changes were due to be constructed during the 2021/22 financial year.
