Loop bus route concerns raised

Auckland Transport (AT) is being urged to rethink the location of a new bus stop in Mansel Drive, outside Summerset Retirement Village, which is on the 999 route of Warkworth’s loop bus service trial due to start in July.

Six new bus stops will be built next month, ahead of the launch. But Summerset resident Glyn Williams says the Mansel Drive stop should be re-located to within the Kowhai Falls Retail Centre.

In a letter to One Mahurangi, criticising what he felt was Rodney Local Board’s failure to consider the Kowhai Falls option, Williams says that that shopping centre builder Dobbyn Construction has offered a suitable location for the stop.

“This has either been ignored or overlooked and, if this is the case, I am disappointed that this ‘no brainer’ opportunity has possibly been lost,” he says.

Dobbyn project manager Bevan Morrison says he proposed a stop on the Warkworth Toyota side of the road, between the car yard and the roundabout, but was open to other suggestions.

“This road is part of the retail centre, so owner Glen Inger has the ability to approve our reshaping of the berm and footpath to accommodate a bus stop,” Morrison says.

He adds that his family is also willing to construct a stop at the top of Morrison Drive, next to or opposite a proposed NZ Health site, subject to AT approval.

“To provide a practical and usable alternative to shoppers parking in town or workers parking in town or up Mansel Drive, we need to have a bus service every 15 minutes in the morning, 6.30 to 9am maybe, and evening (4.30-6pm) departing from the park and ride – one going clockwise into town and then back out Woodcocks and Hudson Roads with the other going anti-clockwise down Hudson Road, Kowhai Falls Retail centre and so on. This would better utilise the park and ride beside the showgrounds.”

However, this would require smaller buses to achieve this regularity, which board member Michelle Carmichael says AT has already ruled out as not an option due to “investment required in ‘out of usual spec’ bus assets”.

Morrison says there are options for companies to sponsor these buses and some property developers have offered already.

“And who knows, perhaps there are some bus drivers in Summerset who would be keen to do a few hours driving. Outside these peak hours, we could probably drop the service to once every 30 minutes with just two buses but again, one going clockwise and the other going anti-clockwise, so that people can board in either direction, depending where they want to go.”

Board member Carmichael responded to Williams’ email by stating that the final route was not resolved and would go out for consultation. However, the only “consultation” that appears to be happening is an

AT information letter to selected households along the route, outlining where the six bus stops will be located.

The letter ends with an invitation for householders to supply relevant information or ask questions, rather than provide feedback.

Project details can be found here: https://at.govt.nz/projects-roadworks/warkworth-bus-loop-service