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Ambitious proposals for a new urban park that would include diverting Woodcocks Road, and closing Warkworth’s Falls Road ford to traffic, were unveiled at Rodney Local Board’s meeting last month.
Members heard from Forest & Bird Warkworth that there was an opportunity to link up two existing reserves with several pieces of Department of Conservation land in and around Falls and Woodcocks Roads and the left branch of the Mahurangi River.
Long-term member and volunteer Roger Williams said the one-way bridge on Woodcocks Road, near the junction with Falls Road, needed replacing, so it made sense to relocate the road to the south and keep the bridge for walking and cycling through a new urban park.
He also said the Falls Road river crossing should be closed to traffic completely, not only because it was in the heart of the reserve area, but because of the danger it posed to traffic and the fact that there was a safer alternative route.
Williams said there had been two fatal accidents on the ford in the past and vehicles still regularly got stuck or into trouble, whether it was cars and trucks trying to cross when the river was high or large trucks getting stuck at all times.
“Forest & Bird wants to close Falls Road and make it a proper reserve,” he said.
“This is potentially the most exciting opportunity for an urban park within the rural urban boundary.”
Williams also presented a second park proposal, called Rotary Grove, which would be an extension of the Sesquicentennial Walkway with a new area for dog exercise and a loop track to Shoesmith Street, as well as links further north along the Mahurangi River to land due to be developed with a new subdivision in future.
He said after the meeting that the presentation was a starting point to get Local Board members up to speed with the ideas and to seek their endorsement. Forest & Bird is also seeking up to $10,000 for works beyond the group’s usual weeding and planting activities, and wants the board to commit to working with DOC to integrate reserves and parks.
“We need to follow it up with a more specific request,” he said. “I’ll formally ask Rodney Local Board to pick it up with Auckland Transport, and hopefully get them to pass a resolution.”
