My Account
AT’s design for the park and ride facility.
Beth Houlbrooke says the 2.8 hectare site will make an ideal long-term community transport hub.
Auckland Transport (AT) has been given the go-ahead to build a $5.4 million park and ride facility at the former Atlas site, just north of Warkworth, by Rodney Local Board, using funds from the Board’s Transport Targeted Rate.
Members voted seven to two last month in favour of the design, which will include 131 carparks, drop off spots, bike racks and toilets, plus bus stops on either side of State Highway 1 and a new signalised pedestrian crossing between them. They also voted to approve an estimated construction budget of $177,000 for the removal of ground asbestos contamination at the Council-owned site.
AT said the cost of designing and building the park and ride had risen from just over $1.5 million in 2018 to $5.4 million today due to several factors not included in original estimates, such as providing bus stops inside the site and on SH1; the pedestrian crossing; the cost of lighting, CCTV and traffic signals; more earthworks than expected due to the slope of the site; increased ground asbestos contamination removal costs; and higher costs for detailed design, consenting and management processes.
Wellsford Board member Colin Smith tried to stall the project due to Council budget cuts.
“In light of Covid-19 and the conditions we’re going to come up against, I’d like to see the park and ride put on hold at this stage, and the targeted rate be approved for our road sealing extension money,” he said. “I just feel this is only serving a few people in the Rodney district and the money would serve Rodney people better in the seal extension programme.”
Warkworth member Tim Holdgate agreed, saying roading was going to be severely impacted, and he thought more people would support fixing rapidly deteriorating local roads than paying for a park and ride. Both voted against the proposals.
However, Warkworth member and deputy chair Beth Houlbrooke said it was a long-term investment that would provide permanent parking for the community, even if AT ever built an alternative facility in decades to come.
“People say we must provide infrastructure before growth – well, this is infrastructure,” she said. “The Warkworth business community is constantly complaining about lack of parking because spaces are taken up by people catching the bus in the CBD around the Old Masonic Hall and Baxter Street carpark. And on every concept design for this site, there’s always been a carpark.”
She added that with the current budget situation, it would be good to put “a stick in the ground” in the Council-owned site to prevent any potential attempts to sell it off by its property division, Panuku. The park and ride would also enable buses to re-route west of Warkworth to serve the Summerset retirement village, Ms Houlbrooke said.
Board chair Phelan Pirrie said it was a big project and an important one.
“We’ve done a structure plan, we know growth is coming, with more housing. We’re addressing an infrastructure issue here,” he said. “This is one of our biggest projects and the first of our capital projects for the targeted rate. It’s a big step to take.”
The meeting heard that the extra $3.9 million required to design and build the park and ride would come off the Board’s $7.9 million targeted rate budget for new footpaths.
AT will now start detailed design work, seek community feedback, continue engagement with Mana Whenua, lodge resource consent applications and obtain construction contracts.
The park and ride will be built in conjunction with a new concrete walkway from Kowhai Park to the Warkworth Showgrounds (MM, July 1).
