Making Mangawhai Heads’ town centre friendlier for those on foot

7 September 2021

Returning Wood Street through Mangawhai Heads’ town centre to the community as a place for people to enjoy was the aim of the Kaipara District Council’s Innovating Streets trial.

Innovating Streets projects trial temporary, low-cost changes to street layouts that aim to provide people with safer, healthier and more environmentally friendly ways to move around their communities.

The temporary changes made to Mangawhai Heads’ town centre in December 2020 included:

• a one-way system for Wood Street
• clearly marking footpath routes
• testing time restrictions for car parking on Wood Street to encourage short stays
• reducing congestion on Wood Street by moving car parking away to a nearby temporary parking area
• posting signs that help people get to the town centre safely from the new parking area.

Seeking feedback and adjusting street layout changes is an important part of the Innovating Streets approach. Since launch, refinements have been made in response to feedback from locals and businesses. For example: parking spaces at the entrance to Wood Street were redesigned and a mobility space was added.

This test-and-learn approach helps councils make sure changes work for the community before they invest in a permanent solution.

So far, the results on Wood Street show there are fewer vehicles in this area and speeds have reduced, making the town centre a safer for people to stroll through.

The council completed the final project evaluation in August 2021. Following this, work will start on the business case to make changes permanent.

As part of the 2021–24 National Land Transport Programme, $30 million will be invested on a range of new Innovating Streets community projects across the country.

Innovating Streets Programme
2021–24 NLTP Te Tai Tokerau | Northland regional summary