Park-and-ride commuters Amanda Law and David Hayward speak on the need for more park-and-ride bays.
Plans have been unveiled today for a $70 million busway station at Rosedale on Auckland's North Shore - but it will not have any park-and-ride spaces.
The station will be midway along an extension of the Northern Busway from Constellation Drive to Albany.
The Rosedale Busway Station will include local service bus stops on Rosedale Rd, drop off and pick up areas and mobility parks, but no park and ride spaces.
By extending the busway further north and building the Rosedale Station we're opening it up to even more people
Auckland Transport's Chief Infrastructure Officer Greg Edmonds said plans for a park and ride were included in the initial investigation but AT has decided against that.
"There is a need for additional park-and-ride facilities, they generally help with congestion but one at Rosedale would actually increase congestion on local roads and would be less cost-effective than sites like Albany or Silverdale."
AT expects that the station will cater to about 4000 passengers a day, provide greater accessibility to and from residential and employment catchments on the North Shore and improve public transport service reliability.
The rollout of the North Shore's New Network next year will provide more local bus feeder services and improved routes to make it easier for customers to access Rosedale, according to AT.
The plans were unveiled on the site today by Transport Minister Phil Twyford and Auckland Mayor Phil Goff.
Said Goff: "The Northern Busway is a highly successful and vital public transport link, there have been more than five million trips along it in the past year. By extending it further north and building the Rosedale Station we're opening it up to even more people."
About 5200 jobs will be located within an 800m walk of the new station. An additional 14,000 residents and 12,000 jobs will be located within a 10-minute feeder bus trip and another 10,000 residents and 3000 jobs will be within a 15 to 20-minute trip.
The $70 million cost includes investigating and developing the design of the station, property purchases and construction of the station and local road improvements. Construction is due to start in the middle of 2019, with the station opening in 2021.
Albany park-and-ride bus station, Auckland. The AA has called for 10,000 new park-and-ride bays in Auckland over the next 10 years. Photo / Jason Oxenham
The programme would cost between $150 million and $250m and could be funded by a daily charge of $2 to $3 on new spaces, according to the motoring body.
Edmonds said an upgrade of the Hibiscus Coast Busway Station and park and ride is already underway, it will open in February with 500 parks. AT is also continuing to pursue funding for a 500-bay multi-storey carpark in Albany to add to the existing park and ride.
The new station is part of the NZ Transport Agency's Northern Corridor Improvements project will provide better links on the Northern Motorway (SH1) and Upper Harbour Highway (SH18), improving transport options on the North Shore for freight, cars, pedestrians and cyclists. It includes a new motorway connection between SH1 and SH18, opening up access to the Western Ring Route and airport, along with an extension of the Northern Busway up to Albany, and new shared walking and cycling paths and connections.
The NCI project has recently completed a Board of Inquiry hearing process for its consent. Pending approval, construction is expected to begin in 2018 with an expected completion date of 2021.
