Funds for Wood St upgrade

KDC plans show an ‘activated shared space’ to be utilised by businesses on either side of Wood Street.

Key for KDC plans
1. Active shared space
2. One way traffic through shared space
3. Intersection threshold
4. Delineate pedestrian and cycle zones leading to shared space
5. 3.5m shared path along Wood Street

The NZ Transport Agency (NZTA) has awarded the Kaipara District Council $455,000 for interim improvements to Mangawhai’s Wood Street.

There will be a community meeting this Saturday, July 18, at 10am at the Mangawhai Club to discuss how to spend the money.

The vision is for Wood Street to become a pedestrian-friendly food and retail hub.

Improvements identified in Council’s application to the NZTA include a shared space between cafes and restaurants halfway down Wood Street.

The Council wants to develop the shared zone to “support surrounding businesses”, and significantly reduce the number of vehicles passing through.

An access way through the decommissioned fire station on Wood Street through to a temporary carpark on Fagan Place may also be developed.

The temporary carpark was set up on Council land on Fagan Place as part of a summer trial in 2019.

The trial also made Wood Street one-way and made street parking short-term to encourage parking further away, reducing congestion.

The application notes that once the Mangawhai Central retail development is completed, Wood Street will need to adapt in order to compete with it.

Council says feedback from the trial shows that the community supports change.

More than 70 per cent agreed the one-way system has helped to ease traffic congestion and improve safety. More than 80 per cent agreed that additional parking on Fagan Street was a help.

Mangawhai programme delivery manager Tim Manning said improvements were needed to meet growth.

“The huge influx of summer holiday visitors means that during peak periods Wood Street sees bumper-to-bumper traffic and heavy congestion,” he said.

“The current parking facilities fail to accommodate the influx of visitors wanting to access the Wood

Street shops and has led to people parking anywhere they can fit, often at the expense of pedestrian safety.”