My Account
Rodney has scored the unenviable distinction of being the Local Board with the most deaths and serious injuries on its roads over the past year.
At a Transport and Infrastructure committee on April 20, Auckland Transport (AT) reported that half of all deaths and serious injuries (DSI) in Auckland had occurred in just six local board areas.
In total, there were 648 DSIs – 601 serious injuries and 47 deaths.
Rodney had the highest number of DSIs – 89, making up 14 per cent of Auckland’s total. This was followed by Franklin, Howick, Manurewa, Otara-Papatoetoe and Henderson-Massey.
The committee was told that speed remains the leading factor in Auckland road crashes, with speed being a factor in more than half the accidents recorded.
Cr Julie Fairey said some nuance around where crashes were occurring would be helpful in understanding the issue.
“A bit of context around the geographic area and population would be helpful,” Fairey said.
Rodney Councillor Cr Greg Sayers agreed.
“We have got quite a large unsealed roading network in Rodney, as well as our sealed networks, and I am just curious if we are able to get a breakdown on where these DSIs occurred,” Sayers said.
Sayers suggested it would be useful for local boards and local councillors of areas with unsealed road networks to know where the accidents were occurring.
Cr Richard Hills wanted to know whose responsibility it was to push back against the number of deaths on Auckland’s roads.
“A total of 47 families never see their loved ones again, 601 people’s lives changed potentially forever and that is just in one year,” Hills said.
“I do hear a lot of push-back on things like safety speeds and pedestrian crossings but, in my ward, the schools are all fighting over who gets the next one [crossing].”
AT’s acting chair Wayne Donnelly said the board took the responsibility of transport safety very seriously.
“One of the reasons for bringing all this data together is to be able to have good conversations with local boards. Sometimes it’s not just one answer or one technological solution,” Donnelly said.
“We won’t knowingly let a dangerous situation continue.”
