A Dannemora woman has raised concerns to Auckland Council and Auckland Transport over a busy street behind Owairoa Primary School in Howick.
Elliot Street is a hotbed of activity with three local schools, a supermarket and shopping precinct in the vicinity.
Mrs Howard has held safety concerns for the street for years. She has a relative that lives on the busy road.
Her concern lies with the community, families and children who go to and from Blundell Park and the schools.
“It’s so dangerous,” she says. “The road is very thin, cars are parked on the grass and on both sides of the street and it makes it hard to see around the bend.”
Howard believes that the yellow no-parking lines on Elliot Street are in the wrong place and are a safety hazard.
Previously there were yellow lines on both sides of the road leading up from Blundell Park towards and through the bend.
The lines were recently re-done. Cars are now allowed to park next to the reserve and on both sides of the road leading up to the bend.
Howard believes the yellow lines should either continue down both sides of Elliot Street to the park from the Wellington Street end or cars should only be allowed to park on just one side of the road.
It would make it much safer for pedestrians and children, she says.
It is also a safety hazard for cars backing out of driveways.
The yellow lines are forcing cars to park on footpaths and lawns with a loss of street parking for guests, school parents and Blundell Park visitors.
This makes it harder to see kids walking next to the park.
Howard has been contacting the Council and Auckland Transport (AT) since August 2020.
“They don’t do anything,” she says. “They won’t do anything until something happens.”
Howard says she’s given up contacting them as she receives generic and repetitive answers.
AT told the Times that parking restrictions are only implemented where a significant safety or accessibility issue has been identified, and in streets classified as narrow roads.
“Elliot Street is wide enough for emergency service vehicles,” Natalie Polley, spokesperson for AT, says. “It is not considered a narrow road.”
She also mentioned that there is “still room to pass using the clear space near driveways” and a narrow road can “also encourage a person to drive slower, which generally improves road safety”.
“The broken yellow lines ensure that the two traffic lanes are maintained around the bend,” Polley says.
There have been no reported crashes in the vicinity of the bend relating to parked vehicles in the last five years, AT reports.
Elliot Street residents have complained on social media for years of the nightmare street parking and safety concerns.
Six years ago, in August 2015, a local posted with concerns over the “fiasco that is Elliot Street at 8.30am”.
She reportedly contacted the school over people parking on yellow lines and in driveways and declared it “dangerous for children”.
A year ago, in 2020, another local wrote they’d contacted Owairoa Primary about similar concerns.
“I’ve witnessed near misses,” the local says. “It endangers the children.”
Howard agrees wholeheartedly. “It’s scary,” she says. “I’m very concerned.”
