Their decisions, following consultation in March and April 2007, mean that planning can go ahead for new infrastructure and services within the Auckland-Manukau Eastern Transport Initiative (AMETI).

Below are details about the package of changes accepted.

Auckland and Manukau city councils asked for community feedback on the project during an engagement process in 2007. For further information about consultation, click here.

Auckland and Manukau city councils voted on the project as it stood in July 2007. To review the councils’ decisions click here.

People First

AMETI aims to provide transport services and infrastructure that communities both sides of the Tamaki River will need to become economically stronger and better places to live and work in the 21st Century.

A key principle underlying AMETI is to provide people with the transport to move to work, education, shops, social services and recreation – without needing to use a car.

Overview of Passenger Transport, Walking, Cycling Changes

Improved passenger transport infrastructure within AMETI will support the Auckland Regional Transport Authority’s [ARTA’s] plans to double investment in passenger transport within the area.

The result will be one bus every minute cross the Tamaki River at peak travel times and a train every ten minutes on an electrified eastern line by 2016.

Infrastructure to support this includes:

• Bus lanes on Ti Rakau Drive, Lagoon Drive (including Panmure Bridge), Ellerslie Panmure Highway and Mt Wellington Highway
• Improved pedestrian access to the Glen Innes train station.
• Possible re-opening of the Tamaki train station, with improved access
• A new bus/train interchange at Panmure
• A new street approach to Sylvia Park train station
• A bus interchange at Sylvia Park
• A bus interchange at Pakuranga

Two studies have been undertaken on passenger transport and travel demand management in the area.

Walking and Cycling

Once fully realised, AMETI will make it safer and more attractive to walk or cycle for short, local trips.

There will be:

• An improved pedestrian environment in the Panmure town centre because the roundabout will be removed, and 30,000 cars a day diverted.
• better pedestrian access across local streets and to the Pakuranga town centre by diverting traffic onto Reeves Road viaduct.
• A new street network, which will provide easier walking access between Stonefields, Glen Innes, Panmure and around the planned Innovation Precinct.
• Improved pedestrian routes to local train stations
• Improved pedestrian environments on Mt Wellington Highway and Waipuna Road, with a new pedestrian crossing on the Tamaki River
• Off road cycleways on Waipuna Road and across the Tamaki River which connect with Hamlins Hill off-road cycleway at Sylvia Park
• All bus lanes designed to be shared bus and cycle lanes (4.5 metres wide)
• Shared bus and cycle lanes will tie into on and off-road cycle lanes around the University of Auckland’s campus and Stonefields

Quality cycleways that are planned by 2016 are illustrated below.


The following illustrates the potential walking destinations within the AMETI project area.


An investigation into potential growth for passenger transport (both rail and bus) to meet travel demands was undertaken. The recommended passenger transport network is illustrated below. It extends from Manukau City to Auckland CBD.

New Street Networks

New street networks will enable AMETI to remove inappropriate traffic from local residential streets and town centres, thereby improving local environments for walking and cycling, and allowing the introduction of bus lanes.

Key components include:

• Extension of Reeves Road on a viaduct over Ti Rakau Drive, connecting with Pakuranga Highway, including providing a new local road along the edge of Ti Rakau Park and widening some local roads
• A new North-South street will go from Waipuna Road (opposite a planned northern access to Sylvia Park)) to Mt Wellington Highway, next to the rail line and Van Dammes Lagoon.
• A new arterial road between Mt Wellington Highway and Merton Road will divert 30,000 vehicles a day from Panmure town centre and roundabout, allowing traffic lanes to be replaced by bus lanes on the Ellerslie Panmure Highway and Mt Wellington Highway. This road will: connect Stonefields, Glen Innes and Panmure; divert traffic from Pilkington, Jellicoe, Morrin and College roads.
• Removing the Panmure roundabout, to be replaced by a signalised intersection.

Freight and Business

Economic growth and vitality in the AMETI area depend upon well functioning transport systems, enabling freight to move easily to ports, airports and motorways. This is achieved mainly through improvements between the South Eastern Arterial (SEART) and Pakuranga Road route and State Highway 1.

• The Pakuranga Bridge over the Tamaki River will be duplicated
• The intersection of Carbine Road and SEART will be ‘grade separated’ i.e. the current overbridge will continue over Carbine Road
• Business and freight trips on Waipuna Road will become more efficient as a result of widening, the addition of service lanes and cycling and walking improvements
• Mt Wellington Highway will become more efficient for freight and business vehicles accessing State Highway 1, through the provision of service lanes that reduce conflict between local and through traffic
• The new street network will enable the movement of goods and services in Glen Innes, Panmure and Stonefields – including the University of Auckland campus

Infrastructure Improvements Along the Route in Detail

The Auckland-Manukau Eastern Transport Initiative (AMETI) projects includes:

• North: covering a route nominally from Glen Innes to State Highway 1 (the southern motorway) via Mt Wellington Highway (Auckland City Council).
• Central: covering east-west movements across the Tamaki River, including Panmure and Pakuranga town centres, Waipuna Road and the South Eastern Highway (SEART) (Auckland and Manukau city councils).
• South: Covering Ti Rakau Drive and the connection with the Highbrook Industrial Estate (Manukau City Council).

As at July 2007, the route in the north has progressed to the preliminary design stage, while the central and south areas are at concept design and route definition stages.

Following respective council decisions in July 2007 (click here), roading changes in the north will progress to detailed design.

Following the councils’ decisions in July 2007 both the central and south areas will progress to preliminary design.

View Maps section for visual depiction of changes.

The North - Summary and Outline of Project

Key features:

• Dedicated bus lanes are provided along the length of Mt Wellington Highway.
• Van Dammes Lagoon is improved as a community amenity (potentially).
• Mt Wellington Highway is widened, providing space for bus lanes, cycle lanes and improved pedestrian facilities.
• New service lanes allow access to adjacent residential areas.
• A new arterial route will deviate from Mt Wellington Highway at Triangle Road, and continue to pass underneath Ellerslie-Panmure Highway and Mountain Road, then link up with Fraser Road through a new signalised intersection.
• A 1km local road to be built creates an additional intersection on Waipuna Road which facilitates turning between Mt Wellington Highway and Waipuna Road. The new local road begins off Waipuna Road, and travels adjacent to the railway line and Van Damme’s Lagoon, then intersects with Mt Wellington Highway at Triangle Road.
  This means intersection of Mt Wellington Highway and Waipuna Road will remain at its current level. The width of the intersection has also been reduced as a result of this refinement.
• The Ireland Road intersection with Waipuna Road remains a signalised intersection with all movements possible. Residents will be able to continue to turn into Ireland Road from Waipuna Road.
• Within Panmure, the roundabout will be replaced with a signalised intersection. Mountain and Ireland roads will both be realigned out of the intersection.
• North of Mountain Road, the route connects onto Morrin Road, with a new intersection with Quarry Link Road. Quarry Link Road (which is a new road servicing the Stonefields development in the former Mt Wellington quarry) extends past Morrin Road, over the rail line and connects to Pilkington Avenue.
• Beyond Quarry Link Road, the route runs along the existing designation (parallel to Hannigan Drive) to form a new intersection with Merton Road.

Central - Summary and Outline of Project

Key features:

Auckland – subject to further design

• The Panmure roundabout is replaced with a signalised intersection
• General traffic capacity improvements are made to the South Eastern Highway and Waipuna Road corridor (including reallocation of road space to passenger transport on the Panmure Bridge).
• Waipuna Road is widened to accommodate a raised median, with left in-left out access at Ireland Road, a new signalised intersection for Waipuna Road East/Levene Way.
• The current intersection of Waipuna Road and South Eastern Highway is grade separated
• Carbine Road/South Eastern Highway intersection is grade separated. The current bridge at the South Eastern Highway continues, elevated, over Carbine Road.
• A new two laned local road which joins with Carbine Road, and allows access to Sylvia Park’s rail station, will be built.
• A new bridge is constructed adjacent to the existing Pakuranga Bridge.
• A new connection is established from Cleary Road to Lagoon Drive to provide access to Ireland Road.

Manukau – subject to further design

• Bus lanes will be provided between Pakuranga and Panmure town centres along Pakuranga Road and Lagoon Drive, including the Panmure Bridge. Bus lanes will connect with Ti Rakau Drive.
• A new connection on a flyover from Pakuranga Road along an alignment parallel with William Roberts Road, then above Reeves Road and over Ti Rakau Drive. There will be localised widening and improvements on Ti Rakau Drive approaches to the South Eastern Highway.
• A road along the edge of Ti Rakau Park through to Ti Rakau Drive that would be an alternative route during construction and for local traffic not using the flyover

South - Summary and Outline of Project

• Bus priority measures will be provided on Ti Rakau Drive to allow buses to bypass traffic queues. These will be achieved within existing road reserves.
• Ti Rakau Drive will be raised over the intersections at both Gossamer and Trugood drives. This helps resolve traffic conflicts between Gossamer Drive and Trugood Drive. Turning traffic is accommodated on slip lanes and traffic signals. Further work and consultation is being carried out to confirm the design of the development
• The widening of Ti Rakau Bridge to allow the above.
• The improvement of the alignment of Trugood Drive into the business area.

Property

Refinements to the Auckland-Manukau Eastern Transport Initiative (AMETI) package of transport solutions following consultation in 2007 and an urban design review have reduced the number of properties affected. However, some new properties are impacted as a result of changes.

Property assessments include full and partial purchase. Furthermore, as at July 2007, in the central area and the south, design work is still preliminary in nature at this time, so property impacts may vary slightly as these schemes advance.

The majority of property is needed to implement the regional passenger transport and cycling network plans. Numbers of properties which may be affected under the current package are:

	Auckland City	Manukau City
Residential	246	63
Commercial	94	35
Total	340	98

Both councils are committed to working with affected property owners to ensure certainty as quickly as possible.

Affordability: Construction Costs and Staging

The Auckland-Manukau Eastern Transport Initiative (AMETI) package, as at July 2007, have an indicative cost of $1.33 billion.

This is a lower indicative cost than originally reported in March 2007. The main change in cost is the availability of more accurate land costs; the inclusion of a bridge structure at Carbine Road and South Eastern Highway intersection, and the removal of the Waipuna Road and Mt Wellington Highway underpass.

Staging has also been reassessed. The project implementation is over a shorter timeframe, with work starting to support the region’s ambitions for passenger transport by 2016.

The funding strategy outlines sources of funding, assesses their overall feasibility and identifies remaining funding challenges that the AMETI project will need to address.

Because the project is projected to occur over a long timeframe all parties to AMETI believe it is affordable through:

• Land Transport New Zealand subsidies
• local authority rating provisions
• development contributions (which are specific infrastructure contributions paid by developers)
• and other sources, such as tolling and borrowing.

Copyright © Auckland-Manukau Eastern Transport Initiative, 2007. All Rights Reserved.