Subscribe to RSSPenrose Safety Concerns
Poor lighting, no security cameras. A long way from the road. In the middle of an industrial area.
Some Penrose commuters are complaining to ARTA about the state of the heritage station.
This is becoming even more important now that a Penrose 3 has been created on the street-facing end as a platform for the new Onehunga line service.
This means potentially more commuters using the old station to cross over the footbridge between the two lines and transferring from the southern to the Onehunga.
This is the distance between the platforms via the footbridge.
Penrose is also popular with those attending Mount Smart events such as BDO and Warriors matches.
Vote Trains campaigner Jon Reeves who has written to ARTA says it’s probably the only station on the network without lighting and a lack of security cameras.
He wrote:
“The new Penrose station (platform 3) with PID really puts the other two platforms to shame. When you consider it is highly used for events at Mount Smart, it really needs to be looking a lot better than it is today.
Has ARTA forgotten about upgrading Penrose?
Perhaps the building should be offered to the Tuakau or Te Kauwhata communities who want a heritage station building and would make good use. That would free the mainline platforms up for proper redevelopment to something “world class”?”
I wonder. Maybe the old station could be moved to the planned Parnell heritage station stop (although that proposal isn’t moving fast at the moment).
But they did move the Birdcage-Rob Roy tavern so anything’s possible.
And then they could build a nice new Penrose 1 and 2 platform.
Mt Albert station is another station where you can feel isolated from the street while waiting at night.
That has improved a little since the old cave-like waiting structure was removed. It used to attract some drunk and menacing people.
Penrose after 6pm on a wet windy night, as we have experienced in the last week, doesn’t feel safe especially as the only escape from trouble is over the footbridge which could be blocked by any troublemakers.
Personally, having been on a New York platform near where someone got shot over a drug deal confrontation, I am fairly relaxed about travelling at night on railin Auckland!
But feeling safe and secure is essential if public transport is going to be attractive for all members of the public.
Women by themselves especially may feel vulnerable on the old Penrose station.
8 Comments
What’s security like at Westfield?
A couple of years back I had a then-girlfriend fall asleep on her way to my house at Market Rd, and call me in a panic from Westfield after being ejected by the Train Manager - despite having no money for a fare back to Remuera - where she felt horribly unsafe due to the roaming youth gangs and nobody else around. Ignoring the awful behaviour of the TM, who should’ve at least let her stay on to the next “safe” stop, this was mid-afternoon in the middle of summer. If it felt unsafe then, I hate to think what it was like in the dark.
I think they should have moved the station north to the Gt South Rd overbidge and build new platforms there. They then could have had the Onehunga line branch off after the station making transfers much easier.
Aren’t there police officers at every station in NY? Or at least security guards with handguns?
@Andy but too late if someone has pulled out a gun and shot someone!
I’ve never seen police officers at stations in NYC, I think they perhaps have some riding carriages but certainly not permanently stationed at every stop.
We just have to hop that the new Auckland Transport sees fit to funnel a larger portion of the funds they have for transport into public transport not just roading.
NYC has dedicated transport cops. Yes, they carry firearms, and they’re real cops not just glorified security guards.
I’m just saying, I’d feel a lot safer with a cop and more people at a station than being alone and approached by a group of hoods at some barely lit station in Auckland.