Skip to main content

Mellons Bay Road, Mellons Bay – Raised zebra crossing Mellons Bay Road, Mellons Bay – Raised zebra crossing

Proposal status: Closed

Reference number: SSM2122-006

Proposal update

In September 2022 we invited community feedback on our proposal to provide students with a safer crossing and promote safer speeds on Mellons Bay Road. Construction is now planned for the school holidays, July 2023

We are installing a raised zebra crossing outside 127 Mellons Bay Road. This project will make it safer for children getting to and from Mellons Bay School. We’re aiming to do most of the work during the school holidays to minimise disruption.

In response to feedback, we’ve also moved the warning sign slightly. More details are in the drawing.

Download the updated drawing (PDF 1.5MB)

Proposal outcome

In September 2022, we proposed to install a raised zebra crossing on Mellons Bay Road, outside Mellons Bay School. After reviewing all the feedback, we are proceeding with a minor change to the location of one of the warning signs.

These works help support our Vision Zero goal of improving safety across Auckland and contribute towards fulfilling the Central Government mandate of improving safety around schools by lowering driving speeds.

What happens next

We anticipate the changes will be constructed between April and October 2023. We will update you with a more precise construction start date closer to the time.

Community feedback

Thank you for helping us make better decisions for your neighbourhood, informed by your local knowledge. We received support from Mellons Bay School on our proposal and heard from respondents that both motorbikes and cars speed outside of the school area during and after school hours.

Here is a summary of your feedback and our responses to community questions:

Traffic Congestion

  • Concern about speed bumps causing unnecessary traffic congestion. Concern that the speed bumps would be unsafe for cyclists.
    Raised zebra crossings have been proven to be an effective way of slowing vehicles to 30km/h or less. Research shows that this greatly reduces the chances of a pedestrian being killed or seriously injured in the event of a crash. This would significantly improve safety for children crossing the road on their way to and from Mellons Bay School.

    The raised crossing will have a relatively minor impact on traffic congestion on Mellons Bay Road. By slowing down vehicles, the proposal will also improve safety for cyclists.

Broken Yellow Lines

  • Suggestion to install broken yellow lines further along the other side of Mellons Bay Road instead as vehicles park on both sides of the road to drop off their children, creating a one lane road.
  • Suggestion to remove the broken yellow lines as this restricts parking during the 23 hours per day that crossing not used.
    We understand that on-street parking is important to residents and visitors to Mellons Bay Road, so we have limited the parking removal to only what is necessary to ensure that pedestrians have adequate visibility of oncoming vehicles to be able to safely cross the road. These parking restrictions are required at all times of the day to ensure the crossing can operate safely.

Centre Line

  • Concern that there is more risk from drivers crossing the centre line than speed issues at this location.
  • Suggestion to have an extension of the white centre line marking as cars tend to push further to the right due to vehicles parked on the left (going downhill) and better and bigger signage needed.
    The existing parking restrictions on the bends along Mellons Bay Road ensure that 2 vehicles can safely pass each other on these sections. We understand that parked vehicles on the straighter sections mean that vehicles may have to cross the centreline. However, there is sufficient forward visibility on the straight sections for drivers to do this safely.

    The centreline markings along Mellons Bay Road have been installed appropriately and we will not be proposing to extend them at this time.

Cameras

  • Suggestion to have cameras in the carpark.
    We do not install cameras in car parks to monitor illegal activities. We suggest that you contact NZ Police in these instances.

Miscellaneous

  • Concern that the proposal would be no use after peak hours and waste of cost due to fewer users on this crossing.
    Although the crossing demand here is predominantly during the school's drop off and pick up hours, the proposal will improve safety for all road users by encouraging safe speeds and providing pedestrians with priority to cross the road at all times.

We're proposing improvements in your area

Auckland Transport would like to work with you to deliver safer roads in your neighbourhood.

We are proposing to:

  • Install a zebra crossing on top of a flat, wide speed bump outside 127 Mellons Bay Road. This speed bump would be raised to the height of the footpath.
  • Install tactile pavers which are yellow guidance paving markers to help visually impaired people find their way to the crossing and safely cross the road.
  • Paint new road markings and install new signage to support the changes.
  • Paint broken yellow lines on the approach to the crossing. This would result in the removal of 7 on-street parking spaces.

Download the proposal drawing for Mellons Bay Road (PDF 1.5MB).

These improvements would provide a safer place for people to cross the road to access Mellons Bay School, as it would:

  • Slow motorists to a safer speed.
  • Raise pedestrians, especially children, crossing the road to be at eye-level of approaching motorists, making them easier to see from a distance.
  • Improve visibility between motorists and people waiting to cross the road.
  • Make it more comfortable for everyone, including people with prams and wheelchairs, to cross the road as the crossing is level with the footpath.

These improvements would include removing 7 on-street parks near the crossing. We understand this can be inconvenient but installing a raised zebra crossing will create a safer road for everyone.

If you would like to post in your feedback, download and print our feedback form template, fill in your details and send it freepost using the address details on the form.

What happens next

  • We’ll listen to all the feedback we receive, and then decide the best way to move forward.
  • We’ll post the outcome of this proposal and a summary of community feedback on this webpage.
  • We can email you the proposal outcome as soon as it’s ready – just select that option when you fill in the survey.

More information

  • This proposal is supported with funding from the Auckland regional fuel tax.

Mellons Bay: Safe with us

Auckland Transport cares for your safety. We want to make our roads safe for everyone, people walking and cycling, especially for our kids and senior citizens and people driving. Projects like this one around Mellons Bay Road are another step towards our goal of achieving no deaths or serious injuries on our roads. We are guided by the Vision Zero approach to transport safety, which prioritises human safety over other measures (like minor time saving).