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Ponsonby Road – Streets for people Ponsonby Road – Streets for people

Have your say on making Ponsonby Road even better.

Project status: Consultation - last updated 24 February 2022.
Round 1 of feedback closed 10 December 2020.
Round 2 of feedback closed 21 March 2021.

Project zone: Central

COVID lockdowns and changes to budgets have significantly impacted the timeline for this project. We have now secured funding and look forward to working with key stakeholders and the community, to make this project happen in 2022. We will provide a more detailed update as soon as possible. 

Project overview

Ponsonby Road – Innovating streets for people showing people.

We are working with the community to trial safer ways to travel and to create a more vibrant Ponsonby Road.

The changes will be temporary, installation will be quick, and adjustments can be made once the changes are in place.

After feedback from the public in late 2020 and three community design workshops held during late 2020 and early 2021, the section of Ponsonby Road between Anglesea Street and Williamson Avenue has been confirmed as the focus area for the project.

From 5 March to 21 March feedback was open on 9 concepts for the changes. We have had a great response with 2’769 votes and many comments on the concepts, from a combination of our Social Pinpoint webpage, on street interviews, and a survey of businesses.

With limited time and budget, we won’t be able install all these concepts, and decisions on which ones to go ahead with will be based on public feedback, expert feedback, and time and budget considerations.

There was strong support for six of the nine concepts.

  • Public feedback, total support for concept
  • Barnes Dance Crossings, 89% support
  • Improve pedestrian crossings on side streets, 87% support
  • Expressing the Ponsonby character, 84% support
  • De-clutter the footpath, 81% support
  • Safety improvements to mid-block crossings, 77% support
  • Dedicated delivery & taxi pick-up and drop-off areas, 61% support
  • Shared lane, 39% support
  • Parklets, 35% support
  • Restrict right-turn crossings, 31% support

Timeline

  • November 2020 – Public feedback.
  • December 2020 – February 2021 - Co-design - This brings a diverse group of around 264 members of the community together to look at feedback from the wider public and further develop ideas.
  • March 2021 - Public feedback.

Public engagement

Over November and December 2020 we engaged with the community via numerous stakeholder meetings, hui with Mana Whenua, a Social Pinpoint webpage where people could pin ideas on a map, one week of on street interviews, an article and advertisement in the Ponsonby News, brochures delivered to the surrounding area, posters on Ponsonby Road, and a stall at Ponsonby Market day.

We received 1119 comments on our Social Pinpoint page and conducted 431 on-street interviews on Ponsonby Road.

Visit the original Social Pinpoint page.

Download the public feedback report for Ponsonby Road (PDF 1.5MB, 19 pages).

To understand the different views and needs of the community, we assembled a community design group of 26 people, including business representatives from the local business association, residents associations, the Waitematā Local Board, and other members of the community. The group met three times between December 2020 and February 2021 to read through the public feedback, identify opportunities for change, consider which sections of Ponsonby Road are most suited for trialling changes, and to come up with ideas for what these temporary changes might be.

The community design group has developed ideas that include safer crossings, new trees and plants, colour, artwork, safer ways to travel on bike and foot, improvements to loading zones and Uber pick-ups, and nicer places to sit and spend time. With limited time and budget, we won’t be able to implement all of these changes, and your feedback will be helpful in determining which changes are trialled.

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Find out more information about the selection of this group (PDF 81KB).

Find out more information and a slideshow from the first workshop (PDF 2.6MB, 41 pages).

First workshop outputs (PDF 1.4MB)

Slideshow from second workshop (PDF 3.6MB)

Slideshow from third workshop (PDF 5.2MB)

Third workshop concepts (PDF 13.3MB)

Project details

  • This project is aligned with AT’s strategic safety goals as outlined in the Vision Zero principles. An objective of Vision Zero is to have a transport system free of death and serious injury by 2050.
  • We will use the learnings from the trial to inform longer term changes to Ponsonby Road in the future.

The Ponsonby Road Plan was adopted by the Waitematā Local Board in 2014. Aligned with the plan, our project will set out to:

  • Make Ponsonby more vibrant;
  • Make it safer and easier to travel on bike or foot;
  • Create more open space for people;
  • Reflect and protect Ponsonby's unique history and culture.