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Motorists have encountered “appalling” traffic congestion along the key route to Auckland Airport today - as the opening of a new outlet mall right next door in Māngere has seen shoppers flock to the area.
Extensive traffic management plans were put in place with an event management team on site as shoppers headed to the new Mānawa Bay outlet, on Jimmy Ward Cres.
The new $200-million-plus Mānawa Bay premium outlet centre opened on Thursday and despite preparation to mitigate mass delays by Auckland Airport and the mall, motorists took to social media to express their irritation about the city planning they felt was responsible for the traffic build up.
On Google maps, red sections denoting slow moving traffic covered Auckland Airport Motorway and George Bolt Memorial Dr in the early afternoon hours.
“Anyone heading to Auckland Airport today - traffic is appalling because our city planners apparently cannot plan. Major outlet mall opened next to the airport,” one person said on X.
Another wrote: “Mānawa Bay being at the airport is dumb coz now there’s unnecessary traffic.”
One said people heading to the airport should leave 45 minutes early to catch their flights: “I don’t know who thought it was a good idea to build a mall near the airport”.
Another shopper on Facebook described the experience of visiting Mānawa Bay outlet mall today - praising the range of stores and but also remarking on the congestion.
“Lol. It’s crazy busy. Traffic is being delayed getting to the airport so allow an extra half an hour,” they said.
The carpark was full at Mānawa Bay. Photo / Supplied
A depiction of Mānawa Bay outlet mall. Photo / Supplied
An Auckland Airport spokeswoman said there have been some delays on the road around the airport this weekend with the opening of Mānawa Bay.
“Traffic has been a huge consideration with the opening of the outlet centre and while there was some congestion in the afternoons over the weekend, we expect a more regular pattern to settle in quickly,” she said.
“Auckland Airport’s priority is always making sure travellers are getting to their flights on time, and our plans for Mānawa Bay’s opening were based on this key objective.”
The spokeswoman confirmed that there were no flight delays over the weekend as a result of traffic congestion.
“Extensive traffic management plans were put in place for the opening weekend, with an event management team on site,” she said.
Mānawa Bay’s opening hours of 10am-7pm have been planned to avoid busy travel times and to prioritise travel to and from the airport terminals.”
According to the Mānawa Bay website, the nearest bus stop is a 10-minute walk to the centre.
It said there would be extra park-and-ride car parks available for shoppers, with free buses running between the parks and the centre every 10-15 minutes.
The airport spokeswoman said marketing efforts focused on a opening month for the centre - to highlight there will be plenty of opportunities to visit rather than a single weekend.
“We also worked closely with NZTA Waka Kotahi, Auckland Transport and their ATOC team to help with traffic signal management at key intersections around the precinct, meaning we were able to prioritise traffic heading to and from the airport terminals, and to manage any traffic build ups,” she said.
Temporary road closures and a number of detours were put in place to prioritise traffic heading to and from the terminals, with six additional remote carparks made available for visitors to Mānawa Bay and free bus shuttles to and from the outlet centre.
“Prior to the opening weekend, we proactively shared important details from the traffic management plans with the public and airlines. Freight operators were asked not to use the airport as a bypass,” the spokeswoman said.
“We also moved Auckland Airport’s construction carparks off the airport precinct; and placed restrictions on our construction workforce on using airport roads to head south, where there is congestion at peaks, and we put restrictions on deliveries after 8am.”
People wanting to get to Mānawa Bay were encouraged to use public transport, and could take the airport link bus from Puhinui Station or the Skydrive bus direct from the city centre, the airport said.
BloggerAtLarge writer Megan Singleton says this might seem like an unusual spot to set up a mall - but it gives people staying in the nearby hotels something to explore without going as far as the city, Newstalk ZB reported.
