Upcoming Transport Plan Change
By Iain McManus
Auckland Council has released additional information regarding its upcoming transport plan change.
At a meeting with members of the Urban Development Institute of New Zealand council officers advised that they were exploring options to add standards and assessment criteria to the Unitary Plan requiring:
- Accessible/mobility parking. At this stage, this seems likely to apply to residential developments of 20 or more units. Sites in the Centre zones, the Mixed Use zone and the THAB zone are likely to be exempted.
- A dedicated pedestrian / cycle path to residential units that do not have vehicle access. This is likely to include standards for the width, gradient and lighting of that path.
- Separation of vehicle and pedestrian access where both are provided. This is likely to apply to developments of 10 or more residential units.
- A loading space for residential developments that do not provide on-site parking. Again, this is likely to apply to developments of 10 or more units.
- Covered and secure bicycle parking with e-bike charging capability for residential units that do not have a garage or basement carpark.
- Provision of the appropriate electrical capacity and cable ladders to enable future EV charger installation for any new residential parking space.
- On-site waste collection and associated truck access and manoeuvring where there is insufficient kerbside space in front of a property for the Council’s normal kerbside collection.
The above measures are proposed to address issues that have arisen with more intensive developments enabled under the Unitary Plan – issues that are expected to be exacerbated now that parking is no longer required for any activity under the Unitary Plan. These issues include;
- A lack of accessible parking, as the building code only requires accessible parking where other parking is provided.
- Poor quality pedestrian access to residential units that do not have on-site vehicle parking (and associated vehicle access).
- Difficulties for emergency services where sites do not have on-site vehicle parking (and associated vehicle access).
- Issues with loading activities for developments on arterial roads, where the developments do not have on-site parking or loading spaces.
The proposed measures will have implications for residential developers, likely reducing the yield able to be achieved on many sites and increasing the cost of development. At a time of high housing cost, it will be important to get the balance right.
The measures are expected to be introduced by a plan change notified alongside the NPS-UD plan change on or before 20 August 2022.
Feel free to contact me if you would like to find out more.
