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Residents on Taikura and Kukuwai avenues in Red Beach have petitioned the Hibiscus and Bays Local Board for a solution to the high volume of traffic using their streets as a “rat run” between Red Beach Road and Hibiscus Coast Highway.
A petition was presented by Tom Connor and Katie Harbidge at the board’s February meeting on behalf of residents. It was signed by 125 people, with 96 per cent of the 75 properties consulted supporting the need for change.
Harbidge and Connor said their main concern was the excessive volume and speed of vehicles using the roads, particularly given the presence of a kindergarten and a retirement village in the area.
Since Taikura Avenue was constructed in 2022, traffic volumes have exploded and the route had become a “rat run” for all types of vehicles, including heavy goods vehicles, campervans, trucks, and vehicles towing trailers, they said.
They noted that the original resource consent for the transport plan designated the streets as collector roads for the new development, with no provision for through traffic.
Auckland Transport’s recommendation for local roads is less than 1000 vehicles per day.
A traffic count carried out in December 2025 recorded close to 6900 vehicles per day using the streets, with a monthly total of 48,227. Many vehicles exceeded the 45km/h speed limit, with some travelling at more than 100km/h.
Connor said many vehicles were noisy and driven at excessive speeds.
“Residents are regularly woken during the night by heavy vehicles, sometimes as early as 4am,” he said.
He said aggressive behaviour was common, with residents abused for slowing to enter their driveways or for travelling at the speed limit. Vehicles were often seen mounting the central median to avoid stopping for turning vehicles or rubbish collections.
Connor said residents had lost pets to speeding vehicles, been subjected to road rage, and felt nervous reversing onto the road during busy periods due to aggressive driving.
Auckland Transport reported to the Local Board that it had reviewed the situation following the speed counts and would install “slow” road markings and a driver feedback sign to improve awareness, as well as raise speeding concerns with NZ Police.
Board member Gary Brown said the issue was exacerbated by poor phasing of the traffic lights on Red Beach Road.
However, residents called for stronger measures to stop the rat running. They asked the Local Board and Auckland Transport to take urgent action, including installing speedbumps and a permanent speed camera, improving traffic light timing on Red Beach Road to improve flow, and restricting the road to residents only.
The board thanked the presenters and said it would seek further solutions from Auckland Transport.
