Work is to start soon to improve safety at a Papakura accident blackspot.
Papakura Local Board chair Brent Catchpole says the Takanini School Road and Manuroa Road intersection has caused concern because of the number of accidents and near-misses, and the large numbers of children walking to and from the nearby school.
“Between 2015 and 2019 there were almost 40 accidents, and the situation hasn’t improved since then, with residents regularly reporting crashes and near-misses,” he says.
“Auckland Transport consulted on a range of suggestions and alongside the board’s own feedback, it’s been reviewed, and AT will now get on with the work, making the area safer for drivers and the children.”
The work entails raising the entire intersection platform and installing signalised pedestrian crossings and traffic lights. Tactile pavers, the yellow guidance paving for the visually impaired will also be installed.
Further work will take place to reconstruct Manuroa Road driveway entrances near the intersection, and to widen and rebuild the footpath and kerb to allow for the traffic signals and streetlights.
New berms will be put in place to support the reconstructed footpath and altered kerb line, which will still allow heavy vehicles to access Takanini School Road’s northern arm.
Cycle stop boxes, the green boxes painted with a bicycle symbol, will be added to signal where bicycle users can wait for the lights, making cyclists more visible to drivers.
Painted broken yellow no stopping lines will go in on Takanini School Road and Manuroa Road to support the signalised intersection and improve road-user visibility to pedestrians.
The existing raised zebra crossing outside 76 Manuroa Road will be removed because it won’t be needed when the new pedestrian crossing signals are in place.
While the project is planned for this financial year, work to replace the gobi blocks is still being planned but will require significant stormwater infrastructure development.
Catchpole says the intersection is not the only one AT has plans to improve.
“Teams are undertaking a feasibility study to install a roundabout at the Pope and Porchester roads intersection. AT says a roundabout might be a good medium-term solution but multi-lane signals are going to be needed in the long-term.”
