Footpaths rolled out with targeted rate

The Rodney Local Board was last month given an update on the projects being funded by its transport targeted rate.

The footpath projects currently under construction are in Warkworth (Wech Drive), Whangateau (Leigh Road), Leigh (Pakiri Road) and Wellsford (School Road), and Auckland Transport is finalising contracts with Wharehine Construction for Albert Street in Leigh, Puhoi Road, Goodall Road in Snells Beach, Rodney Street and Olympus Road in Wellsford, Point Wells Road and Ahuroa Road.
An additional $695,000, from the Wellsford subdivision portion of the transport targeted rate, will be spent on building the Rodney Street footpath and pedestrian bridge over the rail corridor in Wellsford.

Meanwhile, Auckland Transport (AT) will hold a workshop with board members next month to update them on the feasibility of a proposed on-demand bus service trial in Mahurangi. The trial was paused in May to investigate using some of the funds for roading and whether there were any alternative approaches and funding streams to deliver an on-demand service.

Since May, AT has:

• reviewed the potential to revise the routes of the 997 (Warkworth to Omaha via Matakana and Snells Beach) and 998 (Warkworth to Wellsford) bus services during off-peak times in Warkworth
• investigated the use of a fixed shuttle service only for Point Wells/Omaha/Leigh to complement the revised 997 bus service
• investigated the use of the targeted rate funding for unsealed road improvements in the Warkworth subdivision.

AT reported to last month’s board meeting that a weekly average of around 11 passengers a day were boarding and disembarking from AT bus services at the community transport hub, just south of the Warkworth Showgrounds.

The weekday average was around 13 passengers and the maximum number of passengers a day was 20. Around 15 to 20 Mahu Express passengers were using the hub on a daily basis during the week, with around six passengers still catching the bus in Warkworth.

The hub was built with target rate funding for a cost of $3.7 million.