Takutai Street Crossing Improvements, Parnell
Consultation has concluded
Consultation Outcome
We want to thank the community of Takutai Street for your engagement and feedback on our proposal to improve pedestrian safety on Takutai Street at the intersection with Gladstone Road and St Stephens Avenue. We plan to achieve this by installing a pedestrian island in the middle of Takutai Street in Parnell.
After reviewing the feedback we received, we will be proceeding as proposed.
What happens next
We anticipate the project to be ready for construction before the end of the calendar year. However, construction funding has not yet been confirmed.
Due to the low cost of the project, funding is likely to be found this financial year, in which case construction may proceed as early as November 2025.
We'll be in touch with local residents at least two weeks before any changes take place.
If funding is not allocated this financial year, the project will be scheduled for delivery after July 2026.
Community Feedback
Thank you for helping us make better decisions for your neighbourhood, informed by your local knowledge.
We received ten submissions via online survey and email.
Summary of the feedback count:
- 5 people expressed that the changes would benefit the community.
- 4 people advised the proposal would not benefit the community.
- 1 person indicated they have a suggestion.
Most of the supportive feedback we received indicated this proposal would improve safety for everyone, especially for school children by formalising the give way rule, slowing down turning traffic with islands, and reducing crossing distances to make drivers more aware of pedestrians.
Below is a summary of your feedback and our responses.
Concerns
Concern that the proposed changes could confuse drivers and increase the risk of accidents. In particular, narrowing Takutai Street may make it harder to navigate—especially for those coming from busy intersections like Gladstone Road and St Stephens Avenue, where multiple turning options could create added challenges for both drivers and pedestrians.
Our project is focused on improving safety for school children and all pedestrians. Currently, they must cross nearly 15 metres of road, with vehicles approaching from multiple directions. The new design reduces this distance to less than 6 metres before reaching a safe waiting area (pedestrian island), significantly lowering the risk for those crossing.
We’ve carefully considered how the changes might affect drivers. The design includes space for large vehicles like rubbish trucks, and we’ve accounted for their turning paths including wing mirrors to ensure safe manoeuvring. While the narrowed layout may slow down turning movements, this is intentional. It encourages drivers to stop fully at the stop line, wait for a safe gap, and avoid rushing through the intersection or crossing the centreline on Takutai Street.
Concern that the proposal does not go far enough and it is missing other crossing features on the other three arms of the intersection to improve pedestrian safety.
- The nearest marked crossing is over 160m away and the design of St Stephens Ave and Gladstone Road lets itself to high vehicle speeds.
We acknowledge that the nearest marked crossing is over 160 metres away and that the design of St Stephens Avenue and Gladstone Road can encourage higher vehicle speeds. These are valid points, and pedestrian safety is a priority for us.
Our current proposal focuses on improving the crossing at Takutai Street, where school children are currently exposed to nearly 15 metres of road with vehicles approaching from multiple directions. The new design reduces this distance to less than 6 metres before reaching a safe refuge, significantly improving safety for vulnerable users.
While we understand the desire for a more comprehensive upgrade, a full intersection redesign such as adding crossings on all arms or installing a roundabout would cost approximately $1–2 million. Given the low number of serious crashes at this location, we believe this project offers strong value for money and addresses a key safety concern identified by the local school and community.
Concern that the proposed changes are unnecessary and it is waste of money due to no issues reported for the past decade.
This is a very low-cost project offers strong value for money and addresses a key safety concern identified by the local school and community.
Please also consider that “no reported pedestrian incidents” is not the same as “no issues” and our engagement with Parnell School has confirmed this crossing as a concern for them. We consider this a risk waiting to happen, and these improvements will also help people with mobility or vision challenges.
Miscellaneous
- Concern that the proposed island and footpath changes will narrow the entrance to Takutai Street and require a wider turn across Gladstone Road. Removing one car park may not be enough, more space may be needed to accommodate turning vehicles.
The design includes space for large vehicles like rubbish trucks, and we’ve accounted for their turning paths including wing mirrors to ensure safe manoeuvring. While the narrowed layout may slow down turning movements, this is intentional. It encourages drivers to stop fully at the stop line, wait for a safe gap, and avoid rushing through the intersection or crossing the centreline on Takutai Street.
- Concern about access for large service vehicles such as Watercare, rubbish trucks due to the proposed changes.
We’ve informed Watercare and Auckland Council Waste Services of our proposal and no concerns have been raised.
Suggestions to improve the project
- Suggest a zebra crossing would be more suitable along with the addition of crossing safety measures on other arms of the intersection.
- Suggest adding marked crossings at the existing medians on the north side of the intersection.
- Suggest a painted crossing with school patrol.
For context, the maximum safe crossing distance for a zebra crossing is 10 metres. These crossings aren’t suitable for side streets like Takutai Street because cars would have to stop in the middle of the intersection while someone crosses, which isn’t safe or practical.
We’ve also considered your suggestion about school patrols. Parnell School already manages patrols at two busy crossings on St Stephens Avenue and Gladstone Road. They’ve told us they don’t have the staff to add another patrol.
Suggest a flat and mound-style of roundabout to accommodate larger vehicles, allowing them to drive over the top if necessary.
A full intersection redesign such as adding crossings on all arms or installing a roundabout would cost approximately $1–2 million. This is five to ten times more than the cost of our current proposal. Given the low number of serious crashes at this location, we believe this project offers strong value for money and addresses a key safety concern identified by the local school and community.
Suggest fixing the potholes in the side roads and improving the walkways better, especially the ones down by Bloodworth Park which are in poor condition.
We will be passing the suggestions to our Maintenance team to plan any footpath renewal in this area.
Suggest minimising costs by replacing the low-quality ramps on Takutai Street, rather than the proposed changes.
The proposed changes, like adding a pedestrian island, offer great value and wouldn’t cost much more than simply replacing the existing low-quality ramps
We believe this proposal offers the best balance between keeping costs efficiency and improving safety under the current circumstances.
About the project
We are proposing crossing safety improvements on Takutai Street at its intersection with Gladstone Road and St Stephens Avenue.
The intersection of St Stephens Avenue, Gladstone Road, and Takutai Street in Parnell is a four-way layout that can be confusing for drivers. They often treat it as a through road for St Stephens Avenue, even though the main route is St Stephens Avenue and Gladstone Road. Despite this confusion and a few crashes, the intersection has handled traffic well, with no pedestrian incidents in the past 10 years.
A roundabout was previously considered for this intersection but wasn’t progressed due to concerns about traffic flow and high costs from design challenges.
We previously changed St Stephens Avenue northbound (where it continues straight) into a ‘Stop’ to encourage vehicles to yield to those coming from Gladstone Road in June 2024.
Following this, we identified the Takutai Street crossing at the intersection as the most significant gap in pedestrian safety. This became the focus of the current project.
Takutai Street has a long crossing distance and low-quality ramps, making it difficult for parents with prams and other wheeled footpath users.
Although there have been no reported pedestrian incidents in the past decade, there is high demand for a crossing, especially to and from Parnell District School. Vehicles can enter Takutai Street from several directions, increasing the risk. Therefore, we are making cost-effective safety improvements now, to proactively address this issue.
What we are proposing
Takutai Street Crossing Improvement, Parnell - Proposal Drawing
- Install a pedestrian island in the middle of Takutai Street with tactile pavers to make crossing safer by breaking up the journey.
- Widen the footpath and extend the kerb to shorten the crossing distance.
- Add formal Give-Way controls to the left-turn slip lane from Gladstone Road into St Stephens Avenue to support further safety at the intersection.
- Paint additional no stopping at all times restriction (broken yellow lines) from both corners of the intersection of Takutai Street and St Stephens Avenue to the driveway of 57 St Stephens Avenue.
Benefits and impacts
Auckland Transport cares for your safety. We want to make our roads safe for everyone, people walking, cycling, driving, and especially for our tamariki and senior citizens. The proposed changes would create a safer road for everyone as they would:
- Addresses current pedestrian safety concerns by providing a safe crossing point for pedestrians, especially school children travelling to and from school.
- The proposed changes can be installed quickly and cost effectively.
- Painting additional no stopping at all times restriction (broken yellow lines) will improve visibility between cars and pedestrians at the crossing point. These changes will result in the removal of three on-street parking spaces in the existing P120 residential parking zone.
What we want your feedback on
We value your local knowledge and would like to have your feedback on the proposed changes.
How you can have your say
Have your say by completing the online feedback form. The form will be open from 30 July 2025 to 13 August 2025.
If you would like to receive updates about the outcome of the proposal, please include your email address when filling out the online feedback form.