Subscribe to RSSNew Lynn Double Whammy
While the opening of the new New Lynn transport hub is good news, some rail commuters are telling AKT they’re upset at a double whammy hitting them.
First of all, their night time peak express vanishes from the timetable at the end of this week.
Then those who use the nearby New Lynn car park opposite the station, have discovered it’s about to close.
As the sign says this is because of the next stage of development in the area, now that the trains go under the road in a trench instead across the busy intersection.
The construction tender for the Clark Street extension and the next stage - Todd Triangle/ Totara Avenue share space closed on August 3 and the award date for the contract will be October with construction starting in November.
Meanwhile preparation works as part of the development in Clark St are underway.
But that leaves businesses and train users upset that some of the parking options are disappearing.
There are plans for a council car parking building in Totara Avenue but this seems to have got delayed by negotiations over land needed.
Meanwhile the council has put up a parking option guide on its site for those seeking options.
This situation is not going to be resolved quickly - the Clark and Totara Sts redevelopment will take until sometime in 2012.
An interesting initiative that has come out of the development has come from Ontrack with Ontrack making a great offer to remove graffiti from the walls of existing properties that abut the rail corridor in the vicinity of the new rail station and paint these walls a uniform base colour.
It was the council’s intention to commission an art mural that could then be applied onto these walls in an endeavour to detract further tagging to these walls. Two properties are located on the south side of the trench between Memorial Drive and Hetana Street. While, one of the firms there has agreed to allow access for Ontrack’s contractor to paint their wall, the council says the other has not agreed. The coucil was continuing to try to persuade the firm.
In the interim, the council’s chosen arts team was continuing to prepare a suitable concept for a mural.
4 Comments
I think that ARTA or the council shouhld make a deal with Lynnmall. They have heaps of parking that could perhaps be better utilised during weekdays without affecting their business. Perhaps have a system whereby if you spend $X per week at the mall you can park in one area of the mall for the day/week. That way the mall knows it will get a set amound of business and people can park close to the station without the council having to provide more parking.
The loss of the express service is ridiculous and was also a retrograde step on the Eastern line a while back.
This is well patronised and at night shows how fast one can get to New Lynn from Downtown Auckland, which on average I think is about 20 minutes. Probably faster than any other form of transport at peak times.
Does anyone know the reason for this?
The express put the “Rapid” in Rapid Transit Network. The Western Line otherwise has an average running speed (so I’ve read) of 25-odd km/h.
Despite what the timetable says, the Express did Grafton to New Lynn in a mere ten minutes.
It was one of the West line’s best features for those traveling to New Lynn itself. (Those traveling further had to sit at New Lynn for the timetable to catch up with the train)
Just for the record…
100+ carparks gone.