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Public consultation is being sought on the site of a new station in Māngere as part of Auckland Light Rail project.
And despite comments from Prime Minister Chris Hipkins on Monday that the rapid transit scheme, which is expected to cost as much as $15 billion, will now be delivered in stages, ALR chief executive Tommy Parker says the project remains on track.
“In the next few weeks we will confirm the Auckland Light Rail route and station locations, take measures to protect the route, and get the consenting process underway,” Parker said.
Under the proposal, the 24km light rail system will run from the city centre to Auckland Airport with 18 stations on the route.
Auckland Light Rail now wants feedback on where to locate the station in Māngere.
One option would be in the town centre adjoining Bader Drive, while the second option would be 450 metres away next to nearby SH20A.
It said if the new station is built in the shopping centre it would help create more development in the area. But it would take at least three years to build and would affect neighbouring businesses and communities during construction.
Whereas if it is built closer to the motorway, it would cause less disruption for locals and provide faster travel times to the airport and other destinations.
According to ALR, commuters using the rapid transit system would be able to travel from the CBD to Māngere in 32 minutes and from the town centre to the airport in just seven minutes.
Dayzha Vehikite regularly uses public transport to commute to and from Māngere. The 24-year-old call centre worker said having light rail running through the town centre would be a bonus.
“It would make it easier to access and would be better than having it located down on the motorway. Especially for the elderly people in the area who need to use public transport,” she said.
Māngere town centre manager Dave Fearon said building the station in the shopping centre makes sense.
He said while there might be some disruption to local businesses and residents during construction, people need to think long-term.
“If it’s easier for people to access it, people will use it,” he said.
Thoughts shared by Māngere-Ōtāhuhu Local Board chairperson Nick Bakulich who said he thought putting the station in the town centre would also help boost development.
“My initial thoughts are this is the game changer we’ve been looking for, in terms of attracting investment into the area,” he said. “The town centre definitely needs upgrading and this might be the thing to bring in that investment.”
Auckland Light Rail was unable to provide a start date for the project or outline when it expects it to be completed.
But ALR said it expects to lodge resource consents with the Auckland Council for the project by mid-2023.
