Media release
24 November 2011

Auckland Council to drive improvements for Tamaki Drive

Auckland Council has kicked off its first local masterplan led by Orakei Local Board to investigate ways to fix transport, events and planning issues on Tamaki Drive.

At the Tamaki Drive masterplan launch held yesterday, Mayor Len Brown said the plan, the first to roll out from a local board, encompasses the co-governance approach undertaken by Auckland Council

“It’s a shared commitment that I’m fully supportive of. The plan provides a unique opportunity to deliver improvements to Tamaki Drive at the same time as preserving a valuable asset.”

Tamaki Drive is a highly-valued home to communities and villages, a major attraction for Aucklanders and tourists and also a commuter corridor. It has also been the site of fatalities over recent years as competing groups jostle for space.

Orakei Local Board Chair Desley Simpson says a unified planning approach to this iconic Auckland landmark is essential.

“Tamaki Drive is an asset for all Aucklanders, but also ‘home’ to our residents and businesses and needs to be reviewed by all users. It is more than just a road band-aided with green and white markings for buses, cyclists, pedestrians and cars,” says Mrs Simpson.

“We will work with key groups in a unified way and draw on the work already completed, including existing plans and strategies.

“At every stage of this masterplan process there will be local community engagement and involvement from each member of the Board,” says Mrs Simpson.

At yesterday’s hui, held in the Auckland Town Hall, representatives from Orakei Local Board, local community groups, the council, council-controlled organisations (CCOs) and Ngati Whatua o Orakei came together to hear details about a collaborative approach to planning for the Drive.

A project governance team will review previous work to identify common principles along with further community consultation, which will guide the vision for the area.

The masterplan process will finish by the end of June 2012 before a process is set down for delivering projects in Tamaki Drive.

Ends

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