Applications for footpath kicked to the kerb

After years of applications for a footpath being denied by Auckland Transport (AT), residents on upper Bertram Street above Pulham Road in Warkworth are still waiting for one to be approved.

This is despite a major upgrade to the existing footpath further down Bertram Street, which starts at Pulham Road and finishes at Alnwick Street, that is expected to be completed soon.

Upper Bertram Street resident Caroline Smith, who lives in the cul-de-sac, says there have been many applications submitted to Auckland Transport (AT) for a single pathway and kerbing over the years, but every application has been declined.

The most recent application was in July, the one before that was in 2021.

“We’ve got people in the street who’ve lived here for 40 years, who were promised a footpath 35 years ago. I put through a very reasonable application back in July, but there are so many criteria for this single footpath,” she says.

Smith emailed her concerns about the lack of a footpath, as well as supporting documentation, to Rodney Local Board members on October 21.

In the email she said, “Over the past 20-plus years we have been continually declined a very basic right for a footpath and kerbing on a central township street, which has bus routes, schools, churches and amenities in very close proximity.

“What is infuriating, is the current footpath upgrades … are happening this week in the vicinity, including Bertram Street.  But not where it is most critically required. 

“Following several health and safety plus speeding traffic concerns emphasised clearly on my applications to Auckland Transport, I am reaching out to ask for your support for an urgent review for a single pathway and kerbing on upper Bertram Street. 

“We hope that with your support we can fast track Auckland Transport to approve this, with your help this will greatly improve and guarantee our chances of a positive outcome that is more than 40 years overdue.”

While the lack of a footpath on upper Bertram Street is an inconvenience for the adults, especially for one resident who uses a mobility scooter, Smith is most concerned about the safety of children living in the cul-de-sac.

“There’s over 14 kids who need to walk down the street. There’s obviously no safe footpath for them so they just have to walk on the road,” she says.

“When you’ve got a footpath you’re just a bit more elevated, because you’re up off the road, it just makes you a little more visible if you’re a child. Also, with no footpath kids wander onto the street because there’s no clear boundaries.”

Smith says smaller streets in the area with fewer residents have a footpath on one side.

“It doesn’t make sense for us not to have a footpath. It’s bizarre.”

AT Traffic operations manager Jared Plumridge says AT currently has around 700 requests for footpaths across Auckland, but can only fund around 10 to 15 requests each year.

“Auckland has suffered from decades of underinvestment and given our limited funding, we have to make sensible decisions about where we spend the money we do have for the greatest benefit.”

He says all footpath requests are weighed up and prioritised based on the following:  Proximity to schools, public transport and community facilities; speed and the number of vehicles that use the road; if there are already footpaths nearby or on the other side of the road (areas with no footpaths score higher); addressing a gap in the existing footpath network; and cost.

“This means a footpath on upper Bertram Street is unlikely to be constructed in the near future, but it will stay on our list of footpath requests until it scores high enough to be prioritised compared to other requests,” Plumridge says.