St Heliers village safety improvements St Heliers village safety improvements

Auckland Transport (AT) in partnership with St Heliers community representatives has completed making key changes to this neighbourhood that has significantly improved the connection between the beach and shops and made it safer to walk, bike, or drive around St Heliers village.

Read about the public consultation.

Project status: Construction completed. Last updated 22 June 2022.
Project zone: Central

Project overview

St Heliers

This safety project is now complete and has made a big difference to people who visit St Heliers Bay and the village area. We started work on this project in 2021 and made improvements to this area so that it is a safer space for people to use.

We carefully considered the safety problem together, while thinking about what is important to businesses, residents, and visitors to St Heliers. Our work is on evidence including speed data, crash data, pedestrian surveys, and best practices in road safety. It also considers the extensive feedback and comments received from the community on the previous proposal and delivers solutions based on that feedback.

Initially, when we held consultations and asked for feedback on safety improvements in St Heliers village, we heard feedback that our proposal didn’t reflect what the community wanted. AT worked alongside community representatives including those from the St Heliers / Glendowie Residents Association, the St Heliers Business Association, the Ōrākei Local Board and local Councillor to shape our plan with consequently no net loss of car parking and 10 fewer raised crossings.

We introduced minor car park changes but there was no net loss of car parking overall. We added more parks on Goldie Street and our Vellenoweth Green path was successfully completed after extensive community and Local Board engagement . AT also ran a very popular weekly public information drop-in session at the St Heliers Village library during our construction period to keep everyone informed of our progress along the way. AT wishes to thank everyone who helped make this project a huge success.

Our improvements included:

No net loss of car parking.
A new car parking area on Goldie Street.
Slightly amended the raised intersection at Tamaki Drive / Cliff Road / Vale Road.
Slightly raised the existing roundabout at Polygon Road / St Heliers Bay Road (similar to Victoria Avenue / Shore Road).
New 30km/h road markings and a 30km/h speed limit sign unveiled on 30 June 2021.
A new give way to control at the Polygon Road/Turua Street intersection.
Two new raised pedestrian crossings on Tamaki Drive.
New zebra crossings on Turua Street, Polygon Road, Tamaki Drive, and Cliff Road (not raised).
Widened and extended the seaside Tamaki Drive path from 2.4 metres to 4 metres and turning this into a shared path wide enough for cyclists and pedestrians. This extends from Cliff Road to Long Drive.
Removed the painted flush median and remark the road to make space for the wider shared path.
Removed the bus stop on Tamaki Drive adjacent to Vellenoweth Green. The next bus stop is less than 200 metres from The Parade and enabled car parks to be added.
We investigated footpath improvements around the tree roots by the Moreton Bay Fig trees on Tamaki Drive.

Learn more about speed calming measures and their benefits.

Project updates

June 2022

Remedial works completed.

Late April/early May 2022

We are doing minor remedial works in this area.

19 November

We are very near completion, with just minor work around the boat ramp, signage and bike stand installation, minor work at the Cliff Road/Tamaki Drive intersection and the red threshold surfacing remaining. These will be completed during the day with small, localised traffic management in place.

15 November

Minor kerb buildout on Polygon Road and Turua Street.
Boat ramp work (no parking loss).
Maheke Street tactiles installed (loss of one parking spot on Maheke Street).

16 November

Boat ramp work (no parking loss).
Maheke Street tactiles installed (loss of one parking spot on Maheke Street).
Two speed tables installed on Maheke Street and St Heliers Bay Road (night works).

17 November

Two tactiles to be installed after night work speed table construction.
Some rubbish bins will be relocated.
Tactile repairs.
Cliff Road lighting.
Minor kerb buildout on Polygon Road and Turua Street. Boat ramp work (no parking loss).

When our work is complete, AT will conduct post construction walkovers and audits.

5 November

Pedestrian crossing between The Parade and Cliff Road completed as well as all the drainage and kerb work and the final layer of ashphalt on Tamaki Drive. Focus now is on installing tactile pavers on the southern side of Tamaki Drive around the proposed crossing with this work continuing into the first week of November. Work is continuing on the Vellenoweth Green pathway and the final surface is a permeable green play top material. The path will be lit up with in-ground lighting. We are also improving the footpath transitions around speed tables and pedestrian crossings.

22 October

Good progress made on Parade and Cliff road pedestrian crossing. Drainage kerb line and final installation of tactile pavers on the southern side of Tamaki Drive around the proposed crossing expected to continue on until the first week of November. Night works underway to resurface Tamaki Drive. Work on the new Vellenoweth Green pathway began on 21 October and an arborist is on site to monitor the work. Other work is also ongoing including the boat ramp, bike stand installation, signage, threshold surfacing and long-life markings.

11 October

Since coming back on-site in Level 3, the crew have completed all drainage works on the seaside of Tamaki Drive including installing four manholes, six catch pits and 100m of stormwater leads. Following the completion of drainage works, the crew are working on installing a new kerb and channel, edging board and final footpath preparation. Upon completion of footpath installation, the fencing and traffic management extents will be reduced. On Friday 8 October, the asphalt footpath was laid from Goldie Street to Cliff Road, allowing the clay paver to then be installed.

28 September

Work on St Heliers resumed on 22 September after Auckland's move to Alert Level 3. Plans include standards and guidelines for work and documenting the health and safety of staff. The safety of staff and people in our community is a top priority. Work resumed on laying asphalt and clay pavers through Goldie Street to St Heliers Bay Road along Tamaki Drive to match the finish achieved outside the bathing sheds. The Drop in Library sessions has been put on hold until Auckland is at Alert Level 1.

10 September

When Auckland is in Level 3, work will resume. Our crews will adopt strict Covid working protocols, including but not limited to mask use, additional hygiene measures, physical distancing and work bubbles. They will continue with Phase Two, working along Tamaki Drive between Goldie Street and St Heliers Bay Road laying asphalt and clay pavers for the new shared-use path. They will also make improvements to the drainage and the boat ramp. The current traffic management setup in place will be maintained until the project’s completion.

30 August

Work has stalled due to Covid-19 Level 4 restrictions in Auckland, however, prior to lockdown the team had progressed well on Phase Two. The drainage work and Tamaki Drive Shared Path preparation were completed between Goldie Street and St Heliers Bay Road and five new streetlight poles were installed along the length of Tamaki Drive.

6 August

The Auckland Road to Goldie Street section of the new Tamaki Drive Shared Path is now open to all users and the associated stormwater drainage upgrades are complete. Despite some unfavourable weather over the last week the crew worked to complete the first raised pedestrian table on Tamaki Drive in one night.

Phase Two works from Goldie Street to the Vale /Cliff Road intersection started early the following morning. The crew will be improving and re-concreting the pedestrian crossings at the boat ramp, making improvements to the stormwater drainage, realigning the street lights and continuing along the Tamaki Shared Path. For safety and to facilitate these works, the bus stop outside of Annabelle’s has been temporarily relocated approximately 50 m to Vale Road. The new car parks on Goldie street have been completed.

28 July

With the completion of Stage 1 of the St Heliers Village Safety Improvements, we would like to advise that following the successful night works completion of the raised pedestrian crossing.

On 27 July, we will be switching to the new traffic management setup for Stage 2 in the late afternoon on 28 July 2021. Stage 2 is still on track for completion in late October 2021.

All traffic management will be removed from The Parade down to Goldie Street and will be set up from Goldie Street to Vale and Cliff Road. Both traffic lanes will be maintained during this stage as we progressively working down from Goldie Street to Vale and Cliff Road. Your cooperation in following the directions of any traffic control staff on duty and our temporary road signs would be appreciated. If you have any queries about this work or the overall project, please get in touch or visit us in person at the St Heliers library on Tuesdays and Thursdays between 12-2 pm.

26 July

Urgent update: Fulton Hogan has advised today that their work by the Vellenoweth Green will now proceed tomorrow night (Tuesday night), weather depending. This work will only take one night to complete and then the road will be back open for traffic the next day.

22 July

Update on the next fortnight. Construction of the Tamaki Drive Shared Path between Auckland Road and Goldie Street enters its final phase, with the completion of the clay pavers and sections of concrete. Following this construction between Goldie Street and Cliff Road will commence. Construction of the new raised pedestrian crossing on Tamaki Drive near Vellenoweth Green will be carried out over two nights and is planned for Sunday, 25th July and Monday 26th July, weather dependent. While the pedestrian crossing is being built, Tamaki Drive will be closed from The Parade to Goldie Street (7pm to 5am). Traffic will be able to operate as normal during the daytime. Final line marking will be done after the completion of the speed table. The completion of the new raised pedestrian crossing will mark an end to Phase 1 construction ahead of schedule.

13 July

Our progress on the St Heliers Safety Improvements project is tracking ahead of schedule.

The Polygon Roundabout work was finished earlier than expected.

On 14 July we are starting work on the 9 new carparks being put in outside of properties no 12 and 14 along Goldie Street. The new traffic management setup with Goldie Road being one-way only with no access onto Goldie Street from Tamaki Drive. This work is expected to take 7 days weather dependant. Parking will remain open on both sides of Goldie Street however parks outside property numbers 10, 12 and 14 will be unavailable during this time. The property access will be maintained at all times.

9 July

The new 30 km/h speed limit restriction signs were installed in the St Heliers village area.
Construction of the new shared path along Tamaki Drive between Auckland Rd and Goldie Street is tracking well with the new footpath surface laid. The crew are installing stormwater drainage and preparations are underway for kerb works.
The crew have also been continuing with safety improvements at the roundabout located at the Polygon Road and St Heliers Bay intersection. The roundabout has free-flow traffic again, but we are now putting in more pavers and non-slip tactiles to help the visually impaired and do the final line marking for completion this weekend.
On Tuesday 6 July we had a site visit with Councillor Desley and Local Board representatives as well as the St Heliers Business Association.

Download August Newsletter (PDF 2.31MB)

30 June 2021

Safer 30 km/h speed limits have been introduced on some roads in St Hellier's village and nearby Mission Bay.

See the list of roads below:

ROAD	LOCATION
Cliff Road	between Tamaki Drive and 60 m east of Tamaki Drive
Goldie Street	between Tamaki Drive and 15m south of Polygon Road
Lombard Street	full length
Maheke Street	full length
Polygon Road	between Goldie Street and 15m east of Turua Street
St Heliers Bay Road	between Tamaki Drive and 20m south of Polygon Road
Tamaki Drive	between Vale Road and 15m east of the Parade
Turua Street	full length
Vale Road	between Tamaki Drive and 35m east of Tamaki Drive

Please see the 30 km/h speeds highlighted in yellow.

25 June 2021

Work has begun on the Tamaki Drive Shared Path located opposite the Vellenoweth Green.

The old footpath and kerbstones have been removed in order to pour the channel and the concrete and asphalt.

Work will continue on Tamaki Drive between Auckland Road and Goldie Street on the raised pedestrian crossing until the end of August, weather depending.

Newsletter 1

Work phasing diagram

Phase 1

Mid Nov

FAQs

What is the aim of this project? Why do we need so many raised crossings speed tables and footpath widening?
AT is prioritising this as a safety project in St Heliers given the increasing numbers of pedestrians and cyclists in this area navigating the beach, businesses and residential areas.
Why is the speed changing in this area?
The speed change is part of the speeds bylaw of 2019. The aim is to create safer speeds in town centres/village areas. St Heliers will be changing speed from 50 km/h to 30 km/h on 30 June 2021. Mission Bay is also earmarked for speed changes at the same time.
Who is working on this project?
The contractor is Fulton Hogan and the overall project is being managed by Auckland Transport
What hours of work will you be doing?
Most of our works will take place from 7AM-7PM, however, for part of the works, our contractor will carry out an extra shift from 7PM-7AM to achieve a shorter construction duration.
Is there any night work?
Yes, for part of the works, our contractor will carry out an extra shift from 7PM-7AM in order to achieve a shorter construction duration.
Where will you be working and when?
Please see attached above our work phasing diagram.
What is the timeframe for construction?
June – October 2021, with the first two weeks of November as a contingency
Who can I contact for queries?
Contact projects@at.govt.nz or call the council line on 09 3553553. We will also have a drop-in space at the St Heliers library to answer queries about the construction that will be manned during set hours by comms staff and project board signs will be displayed.
What is being done to minimise the impact on locals?
We are working closely with the Orakei Local Board, businesses and resident representatives as per the St Heliers Working Group to carry out this work with the least disruption possible.
How will I be able to access the shops, medical centre and other key amenities during construction?
Pedestrian access to areas and amenities will be accessible during trading hours. Cyclist paths will be marked, and cyclists may have to dismount.
Will there still be parks during construction?
Please note that car parking will be limited during our construction phase. We will keep people informed during the different stages of construction where parking won’t be available.
Where will contractors park during construction?
Our contractor’s staff will endeavour to park in their work zones however in some cases they may utilise a small number of all-day on-street parking.
Are you leaving machinery on the site?
Yes. Some machinery will be left on-site when necessary, but the site will be safely cordoned off to the public.
Is there traffic management in place?
Yes, there is going to be traffic management in place even when the site is unattended. This is a safety precaution. Also, please expect delays when construction is being carried out and plan travel in advance.
Some construction workers don’t look like they are doing much work. Is this the case?
Everyone working on a site has a specific role to play but that doesn’t mean that they are occupied all the time. For example, complex urban sites have dedicated staff for getting trucks in and out of sites safely but when a truck is not there they are waiting around.

Download the St Heliers Village Safety maps (PDF 581KB)

Objectives

As a Vision Zero organisation, we are committed to making the roads around Auckland safer and reducing the risk of death or serious injuries on our roads. As part of this, we have a safe speeds programme for town centres where high-risk town centres have been identified around Auckland for speed reduction and other safety improvements. St Heliers village is prioritised for improvements under this programme due to high numbers of vulnerable road users – children, senior citizens, people walking and people on bikes or motorcycles interacting with motorists. Reducing speeds here has the greatest potential to reduce the chance of serious injuries and deaths occurring. Every Aucklander deserves a safe transport network where no death or serious injury is acceptable. The project will be partly funded by the regional fuel tax.

Changing the speed from 50 km/h to 30km is part of AT implementing safer speeds around Auckland’s town centres. Roads earmarked for speed changes have been identified under Auckland’s speed bylaw 2019.

Detailed design plans of proposed town centre safety improvements

Proposed location of the village safety improvements, shown in detailed plans:

Download the detailed design plans and locations of the proposed safety improvements for St Heliers village (PDF 2.6MB)

Additional information

The reason St Heliers needs safety improvements

St Heliers village is prioritised for improvements under this programme due to high numbers of vulnerable road users – children, senior citizens, people walking and people on bikes or motorcycles interacting with motorists. Reducing speeds here has the greatest potential to reduce the chance of serious injuries and deaths occurring. Every Aucklander deserves a safe transport network where no death or serious injury is acceptable.

St Heliers village has also seen high numbers of crashes. Within a 5-year period (2013 – 2017) there have been 38 reported crash incidents within the St Heliers village area, of which resulted in 8 persons being injured. Since then, 2018-2019 also saw a further 19 reported crashes with 6 people being injured as a result.
The increase in road trauma is both a transport and public health issue for the region with significant economic costs. More importantly, the after-effects of road trauma on victims’ whānau, friends and community are devastating.

Why AT are looking at these changes if the speed limit will be reduced to 30km

The proposed safety improvements complement a slower speed limit and have more benefits over and above encouraging safer vehicle speeds. These benefits include:

A wider shared path with more space for people walking and biking.
Reduce vehicle speeds to survivable levels.
Make the streets safer for pedestrians.
Provide a safer environment for children, the elderly and other vulnerable road users to crossroads.

What speeds are vehicles doing in St Heliers?

Surveys were taken in 2017 show vehicle speeds averaging 37.4km/h on Tamaki Drive in St Heliers.

How this proposal is different to the proposal AT asked for feedback on last year

We consulted on a proposal in April 2019 which had 13 raised crossings through the village and would have required the removal of 40 car parks.

After listening closely to public feedback, we commenced a working group with community representatives to come up with a new proposal that better met the needs of the St Heliers community while improving safety.

The new proposal includes a new car parking area, some footpath improvements, a widened shared path, four new zebra crossings (not raised), two new raised pedestrian crossings, and some small bus stop changes. This proposal has minor car park changes but overall there will be no net loss of car parking.

If the changes go ahead, it will improve the connection between the beach and shops as well as make it safer to walk, bike, or drive around St Heliers village.
If your question isn’t answered here, feel free to attend our drop-in sessions to speak to the project team and community representatives in person.

Will the existing pedestrian crossings are affected

The existing pedestrian crossings will remain under this proposal and won't be affected. This includes the two on St Heliers Bay Road and the one on Tamaki Drive by Barfoot and Thompson.

Why is a dedicated on-road cycleway not proposed

There isn’t enough road width available to introduce a two-way separated cycleway on Tamaki Drive without removing all the parking on the northern side of the road.
We heard during the previous consultation how strongly the community and local businesses were opposed to losing approximately 40 car parking spaces within St Heliers village. An on-road separated cycleway would remove approximately 60 car parking spaces along Tamaki Drive, through the village.
We anticipate that the proposed safety improvements together with the reduced speed limit would provide an overall safer environment for all road users, including people who choose to cycle on-road.
Increasing the width of the shared path will be safer for both people walking and on bikes where it is mainly used by recreational bikers who tend to travel on it at lower speeds.

Public engagement

We consulted from 12 October to 2 November 2020 and received 1,353 responses on the safety improvements proposal.

73% of submitters supported the proposal with some suggesting further changes.

For a summary of the public feedback and responses to the points raised please download it here.

Download the public feedback report for the St Heliers village safety improvements (PDF 1.5MB, 76 pages).

Consultation outcome

We have listened to all feedback so we are making changes to the proposal after considering the views of the community.

We will proceed with the following safety improvements: two new raised pedestrian crossings, four new marked zebra crossings, rebuilding the intersection by the playground, a widened shared path, a new give way to control, a new bus stop, improving the footpath at Vellenoweth Green and no net loss of car parking.

Feedback has suggested a number of changes which have been included, these being:

Improving access for mobility-impaired by adding ramps beside the mobility parking bays so there is easier access to footpaths.
Encourage people biking and walking to share with care.
We will add a buffer strip to the shared path to protect people from car doors opening.
We will add signage to encourage walkers to use the boardwalk, and scooters and bikes to be on the shared path.
The roundabout on St Heliers Bay Road will only be raised by 2cm to encourage safer speeds without impeding on larger vehicles manoeuvring. This will encourage safer vehicle speeds around it.
St Heliers Tennis club users will have extra signage to warn motorists that children cross the road outside the clubrooms.

Still to come

We will undertake a feasibility study of one-way streets in St Heliers, including Turua Street given a large amount of feedback requesting this (172 people).
A lot of feedback requested additional pedestrian crossings, traffic calming, and/or speed limits at various places around St Heliers. We will investigate these requests to see if any changes would be beneficial.
Any parking-related issues around St Heliers village will be considered as part of the parking review that is to be undertaken in 2022-2023.
We will review the alignment layout of the new angled parking on Goldie Street.

Our proposed safety improvement changes will start being constructed in June 2021 which will be staged and take approximately5-6 months to complete. We will be in touch with residents and businesses prior to any construction taking place and will work closely with community representatives to make sure traffic and noise are well managed.

A 30km/h speed limit will be introduced into St Heliers village beginning June 2021 as part of our safer speeds programme. These safety improvements will complement the speed limit change and help ensure people adhere to the new limit.

Original proposal - April 2019

We are making changes to roads in St Heliers village in order to improve safety and accessibility for all road users, especially vulnerable road users. Vulnerable road users include children, senior citizens, people on motorbikes, people walking and cycling.

80% of all road deaths and serious injuries occur on 50km/h local urban roads. Nearly half of those deaths and injuries involve vulnerable road users. AT is committed to making the roads safer for all road users and these changes will help achieve this.

Within the last 5 years (2013 – 2017) there have been 38 reported crash incidents within the St Heliers village area, which resulted in 8 people being injured. We know many more remain unreported and it is likely much higher in reality.

View the reported crash locations in St Heliers village (PDF 3MB).

The project will be partly funded by the regional fuel tax.

Caption: Artists impression of Tamaki Drive and St Heliers Bay Road.

Proposed improvements

The improvements proposed include:

Thirteen new raised zebra crossings within the town centre. See the below map for specific locations proposed.
New zebra crossings on the raised intersection at Tamaki Drive and Cliff Road.
A new traffic island with zebra crossings on Tamaki Drive to the west of Goldie Street.
Removal of the flush median and widened shared path facilities on Tamaki Drive between The Parade and Vale Road.
Removing 40 public car park spaces on and surrounding Tamaki Drive to make room for the new pedestrian crossings. See below map for specific locations proposed.

Learn more about speed calming measures and their benefits.

St Heliers Speed Calming 2.5k-2

Download the map for St Heliers Town Centre safety improvements (PDF 196KB).

Detailed design plans of proposed town centre safety improvements

Proposed location of the village safety improvements, shown in detailed plans:

Download the detailed design plans and locations of the proposed safety improvements for St Heliers village (PDF 3.4MB).

Timeframe

Construction of the proposed changes is likely to take place during mid to late 2019.

These improvements are part of AT's commitment to reducing the number of deaths and serious injuries on our roads by 60% over the next 10 years.

Find out more about why these changes are needed and how we're reducing speed limits.

Public consultation

Feedback closed 30 April 2019.

Public feedback report

Read the 2019 public feedback report for St Heliers village safety improvements (PDF 943KB, 40 pages).

Next steps

We will analyse all of the feedback and use it to help refine the proposal. Your local insights will help us make an informed decision to make your streets safer for everyone.

We will prepare a report on the feedback received and any changes made to the proposal, which will be published online. If you provided your contact details when giving us feedback, we will notify you when the report is available.

We are also advancing a working group to further discuss improvements to the proposal with Ōrākei Local Board, local Councillor, Residents Association, and Business Association representation.

We appreciate your patience while we undertake this process.

Because of the level of interest in this matter AT has undertaken to come back to the community with a revised proposal.

AT may introduce a 30km/h speed limit to St Heliers village in future as part of a wider speed management programme. This would mean in addition to the above changes we would also add ‘30’ surface markings on the road to advise drivers of the reduced limit. Consultation on this proposed new bylaw took place in March 2019. Find out more information about the safer speeds programme.