Response to key issues raised during engagement
Local bus feeder services
The roll out of Auckland Transport’s (AT) New Network later this year will provide more local bus feeder services and improved routes to make it easier for customers to travel by bus around the North Shore, including Rosedale. Information on these new routes and services can be found here: www.at.govt.nz/newnetworknorth.
Approximately one-year before the Rosedale Busway Station is completed (estimated completion is 2021/22), the bus network will be reviewed again and further changes made, supported by consultation and feedback from the local community, with a view to re-routing and improving bus services to the new station.
This means that the residential and commercial centres in the area will be easier to get to by bus. Commuters will also have the option to use the Northern Express buses along the extended Northern Busway, as these services will run through and connect to the new Rosedale Busway Station.
Additionally, an 8.5km shared walking and cycling path will be built as part of the Northern Corridor Improvements (NCI) project alongside the Northern Busway, with connections to Rosedale Busway Station and local paths, making it safer and easier for customers to walk and cycle to the new station.
Current congestion and future local road improvements
We’re aware of the existing congestion problems in and around Rosedale and Albany, in particular during peak times. It is predicted however, that traffic flows will improve in the Rosedale area once transport improvements related to the Transport Agency’s wider Northern Corridor Improvements (NCI) project are completed in 2021/22. Our studies have shown that these NCI project improvements to SH1 and SH18, along with the planned extension of the Northern Busway to Albany, once completed, will reduce congestion on local roads and therefore improve local traffic flows.
Planning work on the Rosedale Busway Station project is continuing to develop further, and as part of this work, we are carrying out more traffic and transport assessments to help further refine the design and ensure the wider network impacts are understood and effects are minimised or alleviated.
So far it has been established that we should look into the following improvements:
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Intersections at Rosedale Road/Tawa Drive and Rosedale Road/Triton Drive to make it safer and easier for all customers to get around.
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A roundabout at the Cowley Place/Tait Place intersection to help buses turn around.
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Pedestrian and cyclist facilities on Rosedale Road, Triton Drive, Arrenway Drive, and Apollo Drive to make it safer and easier for customers to access the new station.
On-street parking
Parking is already close to full capacity on the local roads in Rosedale and many submitters raised concerns about bus commuters also using these limited parking spaces.
An on-street parking strategy is being developed by AT to ensure that on-street parking close to the new station can be used in the most efficient manner. AT will undertake further community consultation to assess the parking situation approximately one year before the new Rosedale Busway Station is due to open, and then implement the necessary changes. This will likely be in 2020/21.
A park and ride facility at Rosedale is not being incorporated into the station design and instead, AT is looking to invest in upgrading existing park and ride stations such as Albany, for those who want to drive their car to a busway station.
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