Ask Phoebe: Removing abandoned cars a rather involved process

The process to legally declare a vehicle as abandoned can take several weeks and it cannot be removed until that process is complete.Photo / iStock

We seem to have a car abandoned on the road outside our house.

It has been ticketed but it's been there for weeks. Who should we talk to about getting it removed? Chris Brown, Epsom.

Auckland Transport is your best bet. If the car has not been reported stolen, the police are unable to help. If it appears the car has been abandoned, Auckland Transport is responsible for its removal. However, the process to legally declare a vehicle as abandoned can take several weeks and it cannot be removed until that process is complete, unless there is an immediate safety concern. If anyone expresses interest in the vehicle during this process, the vehicle cannot be declared abandoned.

For some time now there have been several old steam locomotives parked in a siding near Britomart Station. My train-mad grandson wonders where these engines have come from, and what is planned for them. Alan Brown, Auckland Central.

If they are the ones I'm thinking of, they are ex-South African steam locomotives belonging to Mainline Steam. Mainline had a depot in Parnell, but commercial pressures have forced a move. Some of their equipment has gone to the Glenbrook Vintage Railway, some is in storage, but the size of the South African engines poses a problem still to be resolved.

Are you able to find out when the new station at Parnell will open? David Jenkin, Auckland.

An item in this column in May this year advised that it was envisaged at that time that Parnell Station would be open for use by the end of the year.

A story in the Herald at that time, by Mathew Dearnaley, informed us that Auckland Transport is now backing a "basic" $6 million two-platform facility, after cutting a foot bridge and other features from an earlier $18.9 million plan.

The station will stand out from others on the rail network, as its site in the gully between Cheshire St and Auckland Domain will also become the final resting place of Newmarket Station's old 1908 building, which is in storage.

In May, earthworks had begun at the site and were expected to be finished by August. I can find no further information about progress on this major project.

What is the point of the route numbers displayed on directional signs for suburban main roads? Kate Andrew, Auckland.

They are arterial route numbers. Years ago the Auckland system was devised by the then regional council, in association with Transit.

The idea is that if you look up your route in the map book, you can find your way to wherever you're going by following the little shield signs on the city streets. I've never used them but apparently a lot of people do. Other New Zealand cities have a similar system, as do cities overseas.

Some of the Auckland urban routes are due for renewal to provide consistency with formerly local authority areas.

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Do you have a question for Phoebe? It can be about transport or any Auckland issue. Email askphoebe@nzherald. co.nz