Cracks are visible on the plasterboard lining throughout Pete Williams’ house.
There are cracks in the kitchen, dining room, lounge, and bedrooms of the century-old bungalow, which was given a new coat of paint on the inside seven years ago. Outside, there’s a wide crack in the concrete driveway.
“I would love Auckland Transport to fix the cracks,” said Williams, who is a wheelchair user and lives in the city’s eastern suburbs with his wife and their 3-year-old child.
He is referring to a 30-month battle with AT over a raised pedestrian crossing outside his property on St Johns Rd that he claims has caused the cracking in his home.
“I experienced the crashing and banging of truck and trailer axles hitting the raised table, shaking my whole house. This occurred day and night, which was highly distracting to my work-from-home environment.”
In May this year, Williams commissioned experts, PlasterTech Systems, which found “extensive cracking in all of the rooms”, allegedly indicating an external source rather than thermal expansion.
The company’s report concluded that at least 80% of the cracks were “due to vibrational damage, specifically from concrete judder bars placed recently [on] the road close by”.
The company has quoted $40,814 to repair the damage.
Williams first contacted AT in January 2023, a few months after the Auckland Council agency installed the raised crossing, complaining about loud banging of truck and trailer units and braking/acceleration noise day and night.
Following toing and froing over the gradient specifications for the crossing, Williams said AT got a contractor to provide a smoother ramp, which has reduced the vibrations through his house, except for big truck and trailer units, and buses.
“But the horse has bolted, causing vibrational damage to my house.
“I am exhausted trying to fight AT to take accountability. Despite numerous complaints, detailed evidence, and now an independent expert’s report, AT has demonstrated a shocking lack of urgency and resolution over two years,” said Williams.
AT’s head of road safety engineering, Michael Brown, said that with more than 300 weekday bus trips along St Johns Rd, it engaged with the community in 2021 to improve pedestrian safety, which included a raised crossing between two bus stops.
The project was delivered in 2022, including the raised crossing. TomTom traffic data showed average vehicle speeds had dropped from one measure of 51.7km/h to 39km/h, meaning a substantial drop in the likelihood of a pedestrian dying if hit by a vehicle, he said.
Brown said AT was working with Williams over concerns that the raised crossing has caused cosmetic damage to his home.
“AT has commissioned an independent contractor to complete vibration testing at the man’s property, and we expect this will be completed shortly. The testing will meet internationally recognised standards.
“AT will need to wait for the testing to be completed before we consider any next steps,” he said.
Williams is not the only person to complain to AT about vibrations and noise from the raised crossing.
Mark and Ruth Biggs, in their 70s, live across the road from Williams, directly by the crossing.
They said they experience constant noise and small vibrations throughout their house from cars, trucks and buses.
“You can’t have a good night’s sleep because you get woken up all the time,” said Mark Biggs, saying he had been unable to get AT, the council, or politicians to take action.
“No one has helped us or even bothered to come here and talk to us.
“Take the thing away. It’s just not suitable for an arterial route used by 20,000 cars a day, and 1000-plus heavy vehicles,” he said.
Brown said AT had also been working with the Biggs over their concerns about the raised crossing from late 2022, which led to remedial works in 2023.
“At the time, we understood this work had addressed the concerns raised by the residents, who told us that most of the shaking had dissipated and that they only experienced minor vibration in ‘extreme cases’ when heavy vehicles travelled quickly.
“In November 2024, a senior AT manager thoroughly reviewed the handling of the couple’s concerns and the remedial work undertaken, and informed them that AT stood by its decisions, and that no further changes were needed at the site to address their concerns,” Brown said.
The Herald has reported several cases of angry residents coming forward with complaints of raised crossings causing tremors and cracks through their homes.
Last month, AT said it was removing a troublesome speed bump in Avondale after complaints that it was causing vibrations to nearby homes.
Marlene Person, in her mid-80s, who lives in a lane backing on to Ash St, told the Herald vehicles going over the crossing shook the whole house and she could no longer sit outside because of the noise.
“I was sitting here one day with a glass of water on the table and watching it continuously vibrating. My daughter’s upstairs bedroom has a big crack in the wall,” she said.
In January last year, AT demolished the one-year-old crossing on Hayr Rd designed to last 40 years. It was replaced with a standard crossing.
At the time, Nina Kristensen claimed vibrations from trucks caused significant damage to her home and driveway, telling the Herald in March that AT had still not provided any help.
Another crossing on South Lynn Rd in Titirangi – whose tremors after every bus passed over it were described as “water torture” – has also been ripped up.
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