Freyberg Street neighbourhood street trial
During Covid lockdowns we all saw first-hand how people used and enjoyed quieter streets. Changes to create slower, quieter streets or neighbourhoods are a way to routinely enjoy these kinds of benefits. In the Kilbirnie community, we’d heard concerns about speeding vehicles, so we considered running some short-term trials to create some quieter lower-traffic neighbourhoods in this area. Potential trial sites considered were:
- Ross Street between Endeavour and Coutts streets
- Yule Street between Endeavour and Coutts streets
- Freyberg Street near Lyall Bay School
Following consultation on Kilbirnie connections and discussions with locals, we installed temporary changes to make the section of Freyberg Street between Wha Street and Queens Drive safer and calmer for the school community, residents, and commuters.
The changes we’ve trialled in Freyberg Street
We’ve worked with a school community group that includes Lyall Bay School staff, a school board representative, school community members and local parents to plan, refine, and then evaluate these street changes. We also held a get-together at the school in August 2023 for people living in this block of Freyberg Street to talk and find out more about the plans.
In early November 2023, we installed a new layout at the intersection of Wha Street and Freyberg Street to encourage safer speeds and reduce crossing distances to make it easier and safer for people of all ages and abilities to cross the road here. Changes have been made at all four corners of the intersection using paint and plastic hit sticks to extend the pedestrian waiting spaces and create two trial central islands on Wha Street.
Further down Freyberg Street by the school entrance, we’ve positioned planter boxes and seats to create and trial a safe pedestrian area, stretching from one side of the street to the other. People can still drive in and out via Wha Street and Queens Drive and get to all driveways but can't use this section of street as a through route or rat run. On either side of the new pedestrian area, there are two cul-de-sacs and adjacent turn-around areas.
Students and staff at the school assisted with some of the creative finishing touches, including helping to design and paint a sea-themed mural on the street in the pedestrian area.
The aim of the changes is to make the street safer for everyone including children, and a more pleasant place to live, and walk, bike and scoot through. They have slightly reduced the amount of space available for on-street parking in these locations.
What the data shows
To measure the impact of the trial, we gathered data on speeds and traffic volumes to help determine the next steps. Traffic counters were set up in September 2023 and March 2024 on Freyberg St and the two adjacent roads, Onepu Road and Queens Drive to measure traffic volumes and speeds.
After installation, our key findings over a seven-day average were:
- An overall 13% speed reduction – 23% on Freyberg Street, 6% on Onepu Road, and 11% on Queens Drive
- An overall 12% reduction in traffic volumes on the three roads combined
- reduced traffic volumes on Freyberg Street (63%) and Onepu Road (23%)
- Increased traffic volumes on Queens Drive (29%)
- These volumes may have also been influenced by commuters wanting to avoid the Rongotai Road/Onepu Road intersection upgrade work.
More detail about the trial findings can be found in the Freyberg Neighbourhood Trial memo.
Community feedback
Once people had had time to adjust to the street changes, we sought community feedback about their experiences. We received 185 submissions through a public online survey between April and May 2024.
- Most respondents lived in the area or had kids at the school (80%)
- For people dropping kids to school, more people felt it was safer with the changes in place (63%), with 30% disagreeing
- Overall, slightly more people felt the changes had made it safer for pedestrians and people who ride bikes in the area (53%), while others disagreed (37%).
People that didn’t like the changes were concerned about traffic speeds and volumes on Queens Drive.
We also interviewed people around the school during drop-off and pick up times.
The positive themes we heard through these interviews included:
- More walking and biking for school kids
- Increased safety around school pick up
- The mural and blue zone being a place to spend time with the community
- Freyberg Street becoming a quieter street.
“Really supportive. I'm more likely to let my son (9yo) scooter to school alone, and feel much safer scootering or walking with him and his younger brother (4yo). I can see it's improved safety a lot and there appear to be a lot more kids walking, biking, rollerblading or scootering to school”.
“It is fabulous, what’s been done here. It’s clearly a place where kids can come across and it’s been nicely done its attractive…... Absolutely a safer street as it is slowing people down…... I think it does make the place more connected to the school and make it a hub for the community…... Also, I think people can save a bit of money by not driving their kids to school. They can walk”.
“I've really liked it, I think it has created a safe space for the kids and the road does seem quieter. Cars used to just use it as a passageway and it feels more like a school community area now...the kids really like it.... I love this and I really hope it stays”.
The negative themes from the interviews included:
- Inconvenience
- Traffic volumes moving to Queens Drive
- Loss of parking/poor parking habits near the school
“All it's done is force traffic to Queens Drive and I’ve heard near misses of kids not using the crossing getting out of cars and running straight across the road because mum and dad are in a hurry to get to work. This was a drop-off point and a through street where they can do that was way safer.”
“I find it quite inconvenient. When driving through you have to find a different street to drive through and this used to be a main thoroughfare fare to pick up and drop as well as other activities in the area……It was always a fight to get a park here at this time of day and this has made it worse actually because there is even less parking.”
Kids help install street changes
Lyall Bay School and student feedback
The school has seen an increase in safety on Freyberg Street and have provided a letter of support for the project. Through student interviews, there are numerous accounts of students feeling safer, using more active modes, and having more social interaction with other members of the community. We conducted interviews with students aged 5-11 from Lyall Bay School to understand their experiences moving in the area.
Positive themes included:
- Feeling safer and more independent when commuting to school
- Seeing the ‘blue zones’ as safe areas
- The marine streetscape and seating making the area inviting and playful
- At the Wha/Freyberg streets intersection, shorter crossing distance and pedestrian islands made them feel safer and encouraged slower vehicle speeds
- On Queens Drive, students liked the raised pedestrian crossing slowed cars down, and relocating the road patrol to this crossing increased feelings of safety.
"I like everything but especially the seats because school doesn't open until 8.30 and you can sit there."
"I like the animals and sea creatures, because it makes me feel like it's real."
"Safer, because there's a place to stop in the middle, it gives you a faster way to cross." (Wha Street)
Negative themes included:
- Inconvenience for multi-trip car journeys – particularly if their parents feel this way
- Mopeds still getting through the street closure
- Increased traffic on Queens Drive
"More safe, you need another speed bump, a bigger speed bump, they still go too fast." (Queens Drive)
"Heaps of adults hate it if they're driving." (Freyberg Street)
"Because there's more traffic [on Queens Drive] you have to wait for a long time to cross."
"I don't like motorbikes and cyclists going through there." (Freyberg Street)
Students also provided design suggestions, including:
- A wall of seating to prevent moped riders going through
- Interactive/fun elements like hopscotch and obstacles to attract kids to play
- An additional pedestrian island across Freyberg Street by Wha Street intersection
- Installing more speed bumps on Queens Drive and turning it into a rainbow crossing.
Next steps
We’ve been pleased to see how the trial has successfully reduced traffic speeds and volumes in the area. We’ll extend the trial for a further 12 months until May 2025, along with making further changes on Queens Drive to help reduce the traffic speeds such as speed humps.
We will continue to monitor this new style of traffic calming – including traffic speeds, traffic volumes, and traffic patterns through the area. After May 2025, we'll review whether to make the changes permanent. This will include getting feedback from the community and a final decision would be made by Councillors through a formal traffic resolution process.
We want to acknowledge the input and support of Lyall Bay School and the local working group for helping this project come to life and reflecting the needs of the community.