The large number of speed bumps at Milldale is driven by the “nut jobs” at Auckland Transport, says the marketing consultant for the newly built suburb north of the city.
Warren Frogley, who has been marketing Milldale for the developer Fulton Hogan since work began on the suburb, was asked on social media if there were any plans to reduce the number of speed bumps.
“This is driven by the nut jobs at AT [Auckland Transport], you know, the brains behind the unused bike lanes that cause lots of accidents.
“Part of their attempt to stop people driving cars and walk or cycle by making their driving experience as crappy as possible,” he said.
And though Frogley has taken aim at AT over the proliferation of speed humps at Milldale, the transport agency says the developer is responsible for the mix of traffic calming measures built in the new suburb.
Frogley’s comments were made about two weeks ago, before the Herald ran a story at the weekend about a Milldale resident, Henri Labuschagne, having to navigate 22 speed humps when he drives home each day through the suburb, over a distance of only 1.8km.
“I’ve tried taking different routes, but speed humps appear everywhere. You just can’t seem to escape them. While I understand the importance of traffic calming, the number of speed humps is over the top,” Labuschagne said.
Frogley said in the post that the developer’s planning and consulting team had battled it out with AT, “but traffic calming seems to preoccupy these ideologues’ life”.
Today, Frogley said he sometimes shares personal opinions, but he could not recall the social media post critical of AT.
AT declined to comment on Frogley’s post but noted that Milldale continued to be marketed as a convenient, thriving community, with transport links that “pose no problem for commuters”.
AT’s design and standards manager, Chris Beasley, earlier said the transport agency and Fulton Hogan had agreed to a 30km/h low-speed environment for the new suburb.
He noted that AT had specifically requested raised platforms at pedestrian and cycle crossings at Milldale, but not for the majority of raised speed tables that Fulton Hogan installed.
The Herald is seeking comment from Fulton Hogan about Frogley’s social media post and the number of speed humps at the new suburb, off the Northern Motorway near Silverdale.
The road construction and maintenance firm, which operates a land development arm, declined to comment on the weekend story about the proliferation of speed humps.
That story drew many responses, including an email from a cyclist named Sean, who regularly rides a 3.2km loop around what he called “Speedhump City”.
“The number of speed humps is insane,” Sean wrote. “One day, I decided to count the ones around the perimeter. There were 87. Seriously, there must be over 300, and the development isn’t even finished.”
Sean had considered buying in Milldale, but after driving through the area to inspect a property, he changed his mind.
“It was way worse than on a bike,” he said. That first visit was also his last.
One Milldale resident, who did not want to be named, said the speed humps were no big deal.
“There are not enough raised, safe crossings as it is. I have stopped kids from crossing the road after being dropped off by the bus, to prevent speeding drivers from hitting them.
“What’s far worse is the illegal parking in the bicycle lanes ... leading to cyclists having to dart out into the road and slow traffic down,” the resident said.
One man said he worked in the area most weeks and the number of speed bumps he had to navigate was “absolutely ridiculous”.
“At least half of them need to be removed Asap.”
The Automobile Association said speed humps had a valuable role in environments where lower vehicle speeds were essential, particularly in areas with high pedestrian activity, such as town centres and residential areas.
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