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Wellsford residents and visitors will soon be able to walk safely from the town centre down to Centennial Park, thanks to final approval for a long-awaited $3.4 million footpath and bridge along the eastern side of Rodney Street.
The path and footbridge were originally approved for funding from Rodney Local Board’s transport targeted rate in December 2020. However, the project also needed the official go-ahead by Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Agency, as it runs along State Highway 1, and KiwiRail, as the footbridge will have to cross the train tracks.
In the time that it has taken to negotiate and obtain, the cost of design and construction has more than doubled, from $1.43 million to $3.4 million. Rodney Local Board members voted to approve an additional $1.574 million at their meeting last month. Waka Kotaki is contributing the remaining $400,000.
Auckland Transport programme director Duminda Wijayasinghe said detailed design of the path and footbridge was currently underway and work was expected to start in October.
At present, the eastern footpath stops at the driveway of 68 Rodney Street, meaning that anyone walking south would have to cross State Highway 1, negotiate both Davies Road accesses and cross SH1 again to reach Centennial Park Road.
Before the Board meeting, Wellsford Preschool owner Annie Sulway and local resident Caroline Milner both spoke in support of the new path at the public forum.
“At the moment, there is no safe way for our families to come from home to preschool. We feel quite isolated,” Ms Sulway said. “A path would be a big benefit for our children and also for us to be able to take them into town, to the museum and library, and the old people’s home at Christmas. It would be a big benefit for us and the community.”
Ms Milner said it would also hopefully put a stop to young people using the railway tracks as a short cut.
Board members also voted to approve $7.68 million for investigation, design and construction of a further 12 new footpaths in Warkworth, Wellsford and Kumeu, which will be the final tranche of footpaths to be delivered under the current Rodney Local Board transport targeted rate. The expected 10-year, $46 million fund is now fully allocated across 34 footpaths (totalling 10.5km), three bus services, two bus stops and two community transport hubs, in Warkworth and Kumeu.
The latest new footpaths to be approved in Mahurangi are Olympus Road in Wellsford; plus Falls Road, McKinney Road and Mason Heights in Warkworth; Kaipara Flats Road, School Road, Old Woodcocks Road in Kaipara Flats; Point Wells Road; and Ahuroa Road.
