16 December, 2020

Residents riled at overnight loss of parking

Joe and Yvonne Bregmen enjoy seeing visitors, but say they’re not likely to be getting any now that yellow lines have made the section of Ngataringa Rd outside their property a no-go zone.

Over the road, Tarn and Euan Cameron are in a similar predicament, with nowhere for friends, family or tradespeople to pull up, after a pre-dawn yellow paint job early this month.

Both couples have since been warned by roading contractors that their cars could be towed away if they continue to be left out on the street.

Tarn Cameron says: “That won’t happen. It’s not a Rolls-Royce, but it will have an emblem on the bonnet and it will be me.”

Bregmen, a feisty former Navy man aged well into his 80s, is equalled unimpressed.

Like Cameron, he woke early one morning to find the lines were being painted.

The yellow-line restrictions affect around 10 properties at the Lake Rd end of what was a quiet suburban street until construction of Ryman Healthcare’s William Sanders retirement village began several years ago.

With orange cones along the front of the village, reduced parking options are also an issue for other residents further down Ngataringa Rd. Neighbouring streets, where village workers park and big trucks travel, are also affected.

“What gives Ryman the right to do this?” asks Bregmen.

Cameron says she understands the safety argument of putting yellow lines right by the Lake Rd corner, but she is unimpressed at extra public spaces being taken away. She is also angered at what she says has been appalling communication over the whole matter.

The first the Camerons heard of any plan for yellow lines was by letter in January, but Cameron says not everyone affected received it. The letter came from consultants engaged by Ryman to “facilitate the consultation aspects”.

The letter was dated 14 January, with residents given 10 days from 15 January to give feedback. The Camerons filed an objection. In May, a question to Auckland Transport (AT) about when the orange cones would be moved went unanswered.

Devonport-Takapuna Local Board member Trish Deans asked AT to explain exactly where and why yellow lines were to be installed after they were mentioned in a monthly AT report to the board in September. An AT official said at a subsequent board meeting that she could not say as the matter was one between a private consultant and a developer.

The original letter to residents cited difficulties for motorists getting out of the village’s two-way entrance, saying cars parked on the street reduced visibility.

The Bregmens have their own exit issues since the road got busier, especially with construction-related heavy vehicles. Mrs Bergman has to walk up their steep drive and out onto the road to see what traffic is coming to guide her husband’s driving. “It’s stressful,” she says.