Eden Park Transport Tonight

in Auckland General RWC 2011 by Jon C — September 23, 2011 at 6:13 pm | 0 comments

Last Saturday there were reports of police concern about rugby fans spilling from Kingsland bars onto the street .

No chance this weekend as the relevant New North Rd area will be closed for this weekend’s Eden Park RWC matches.

After last weekend, I reported that bar and restaurant staff  I talked to said they were flat out but there were no problems especially as some had employed security. Media don’t like reporting that fans have been very well behaved but obviously no one wants to take chances.

AT clarifying the situation about their role in this say: “We take guidance from police on these things, if they say it is unsafe on the night and closure is necessary it would be done. Last Saturday we checked with them about Kingsland village, they were comfortable with how it was.”

I have no problem with closure and speed limits  there- in fact wished it had happened before.

But the chance to make it a party fun atmosphere was killed weeks ago by the Council.

It’s a pity authorities invoking their strict RWC rules had not earlier allowed festivities to also take place in Kingsland such as street stalls and entertainment to make it a carnival atmosphere.

ACT leader Dr Brash said some weeks back about the council restrictions on Kingsland:

“I’ve been told of one restauranteur being refused permission to allow buskers outside his establishment. Resource consent has been refused for street stalls. A proposal to hold a street festival in Kingsland has been turned down, notwithstanding enthusiastic support from the locals.

“Kingsland is one area where there are likely to be thousands more seeking food, drink and entertainment than existing establishments are legally permitted to cater for. But requests for flexibility have fallen on deaf ears. Some silly bureaucrats are treating the World Cup more as a Civil Defence emergency than a celebration.

“To those officials I say, lighten up and help us get out the welcome mat. ACT will champion the cases of any business being stymied by bureaucrats from trying to make this the best Rugby World Cup ever,” Dr Brash concluded.

Exactly. What a pity nothing has changed now it seems likely the road around Kingsland will be closed for the rest of the RWC games.

As far as the traffic measures:

• The speed limit on New North Rd through Kingsland Village will be 30km/h for three hours before kick-off.
• Part of New North Rd around Kingsland will then be closed from kick off until two hours after the match on Saturday night and Sunday afternoon matches.

• Parking restrictions and road closures will be in place around Eden Park and public parking will be outside the residential parking zones. If you are dropping people off at the event, the main drop off point is on Dominion Rd. Parking on streets outside the residential parking zones will involve a short walk to the stadium.People planning to drive are advised to carpool.
• A limited number of accessible parking spaces will be provided in Bellwood Road (between Cromwell Street and Dominion Road), an orange mobility sticker is required for access.  A shuttle service will operate between this point and the venue.

 

AT says bus and train services will be beefed up for the weekend matches.

From four hours before kick-off 100 extra special event buses will be free with a match ticket from outside Britomart Transport Centre. More than 100 additional train services are operating on each day. Extra buses will be provided across the network for people travelling to the Queen’s Wharf Fanzone.

Buses:

• To Eden Park from Britomart and the Civic Theatre on Queen St every 5 minutes , Albany every 10 minutes via all Northern Busway Stations, Takapuna from Hurstmere Rd every 15 minutes, Newmarket and Mt Eden every 10 minutes and from Manukau city centre/Botany Town Centre/Pakuranga Plaza every 30 minutes.
• Free shuttle bus from Whangaparaoa Plaza via Silverdale to Albany Bus Station (Saturday 5 & 5.30pm, Sunday 12 and 12.30pm).

Trains:

• ·Approximately every 5-7 minutes between Britomart and Kingsland (between 5.37pm – 7.44pm and after the match on Saturday and on Sunday from 12.37pm to 2.44pm and after the match), stopping only at Grafton Station on the way
• Three additional direct services from Papakura to the match, calling all stations to Newmarket, then Grafton and direct to Kingsland
• Trains from the west run to Morningside approx. every 15 minutes in the lead up to matches and every 10 to 15 minutes after matches.
• For those not going to Eden Park there will be half hourly trains on the Western Line and from Westfield to Britomart trains will alternate half hourly between the Southern and Eastern lines. Last trains depart Britomart at about 1am.
• Train operator Veolia Transport also has strengthened contingency arrangements in place, including standby trains and buses. Passenger volumes will be monitored at stations.

Travel is free with a match ticket on trains and special event buses from 5.30pm on Saturday and 12.30pm on Sunday. The special event buses from Britomart  are free

from 4.30pm on Saturday and 11.30am on Sunday. After the match, travel is free on special event buses until one hour after the match (or until the crowd has cleared) and until the end of service on trains.

Taxis

• Taxi drop off points are on Bond St and Dominion Rd pre-match  and after the match taxi ranks are on Dominion Rd and New North Rd
•  A mobility taxi rank is located in Bellwood Avenue near Cromwell Street for mobility drop off / pick up. A shuttle operates to and from the stadium. People being picked up need to make sure the vehicle is in place before the end of the match to avoid the road closures. 

Party Central

AT says there are a range of options. For example, although Quay St is closed, the nearby Downtown Carpark building is still open and along with the Victoria St Carpark is a maximum of $7.50.