The Peninsula Connection road safety project

Following work on the foreshore in 2021, roading upgrades began in June 2022 and are expected to take about a year. The work is being done between Coronation Hall and Allans Beach Road.

Key features of the work in Portobello are:

• construction of a shared path and safer crossing points for cyclists and pedestrians
• upgraded pedestrian access from Allans Beach Road to Portobello School
• raised speed tables to slow traffic
• construction of median islands and a roundabout to provide more separation between traffic at the intersection of Hereweka Street and Portobello, Harington Point, Highcliff and Hatchery Roads
• angled parking in front of the Portobello Store maintained
• landscaping around the new seating area once the work on the road is complete.

The Council has approved construction of a boardwalk in the Portobello section of the Peninsula Connection, and the next stage is to seek resource consent.

Work on the section between Broad Bay and Turnbulls Bay started in June 2022 and is expected to take about a year. The worksite runs between Sandpiper Street and Solar Terrace.

Key features of this section of the Peninsula Connection are:

• roads widened and a shared path constructed along the inland portion of Portobello Road between Broad Bay and Turnbulls Bay
• three retaining walls built to support the surrounding ground and reduce the likelihood of slips when the road is widened
• emergency work to replace the partially collapsed culvert at Turnbulls Bay.

Two new bus shelters in Broad Bay are about to get a fresh look.

Experienced local artists will paint colourful murals on the shelters as part of the Peninsula Connection project. Each shelter will feature the Te Reo Māori name for the area, Whaka Oho Rahi, along with the street name.

Thomas Hancock is painting the shelter at the corner of Matariki Street in a fresh, contemporary design that sets outlines of native fauna against local colours to evoke a feeling of harmony between land and sea.

The shelter at King George Street will be painted by Aaven Junior, whose bold, energetic work celebrates the lively spirit of Whaka Oho Rahi, with elements such as a teapot, gumboot and umbrella hidden in the design. In acknowledgement of Te Rūnanga o Ōtākou as mana whenua, Aaven’s design will use “Ōtākou Red” as the key colour – this was also used on Ayesha Green’s Octagon sculpture Kō te Tūhono.

The murals were selected by a panel with representatives from the Otago Peninsula Community Board and Te Rūnanga o Ōtākou in an open process.

The shelters will be closed when the artists are working on them, but the bus stops will continue to be used for picking up and dropping off passengers.

Work on the Broad Bay section of the Peninsula Connection is progressing well and is on track to finish around the middle of the year. Work in the Portobello township should be complete in April.

Work on the next stage of the Peninsula Connection project begins in June. This work is an important milestone in the project, seeing a continuous shared path and safety upgrade between Portobello and the city, but it will mean ongoing disruption for Peninsula residents.

The upcoming work will be done at two sites at the same time. One site is in Portobello (on Portobello Road from Coronation Hall to Allans Beach Road). The other is between Broad Bay and Turnbulls Bay (Sandpiper Street to Solar Terrace). Details of these works are below.

Site preparation will begin over the next few weeks, with the main work beginning mid-June and taking about a year.

Portobello Road will often be restricted to one lane in the worksites, and traffic will be managed with stop/go signs or traffic lights. Some road closures and detours via Highcliff Road may be required.

Broad Bay to Turnbulls Bay

• Roads widened and a shared path constructed along the inland portion of Portobello Road between Broad Bay and Turnbulls Bay
• Three retaining walls built to support the surrounding ground and reduce the likelihood of slips when the road is widened
• Emergency work to replace the partially collapsed culvert at Turnbulls Bay

Map 1: Broad Bay to Turnbulls Bay inland section (not showing area where culvert will be repaired)

Portobello 

• Construction of a shared path and safer crossing points for cyclists and pedestrians
• Raised speed tables to keep traffic speeds down
• Construction of median islands and a roundabout to provide more separation between traffic at the intersection of Hereweka Street and Portobello, Harington Point, Highcliff and Hatchery roads
• Upgraded pedestrian access from Allans Beach Road to Portobello School
• Angled parking in front of the Portobello Store maintained
• Landscaping around the new seating area once the roading improvements are complete

Map 2: Portobello section

Culvert replacement part of Peninsula Connection work

Work to replace a partially collapsed culvert beneath Portobello Road, at Turnbulls Bay, gets underway next week, as part of the next stage of construction on the Peninsula Connection project.

The partially collapsed culvert, about 8m deep, was found to be the cause of a small sinkhole which appeared at the road surface in October 2021.

DCC Transport Delivery Manager Ben Hogan says the sinkhole was filled last year. The culvert has since been regularly monitored and dewatered to ensure the road can continue to be used safely in the meantime.

Mr Hogan says work to replace the partially collapsed culvert will begin on Thursday, 28 April and is expected to take about four months to complete.

The DCC expects that the road will remain open to traffic throughout this work. Traffic management will be in place and there will be times when the road is reduced to one lane controlled by traffic lights, or traffic is diverted through the adjacent Fletcher House carpark.

However, there is also a possibility that a detour via Highcliff Road may be required at times if soil conditions are unfavourable at the depths required to renew the culvert.

Mr Hogan says replacement of the culvert has been included in the Broad Bay to Turnbulls Bay section of the Peninsula Connection project.

“Including the culvert replacement as part of the Peninsula Connection work means that we can take advantage of contractor efficiencies and minimise disruption to road users as much as possible,” he says.

In addition to replacement of the culvert, most of the other work will be road/shared path construction. The section is expected to be completed prior to June 2023.

Company Bay to Broad Bay section - public opening, Sunday 27 June 2021

The official public opening of the Company Bay to Broad Bay section of the Peninsula Connection road safety project (Section 4) took place on Sunday 27 June at 11am in the Broad Bay Reserve car park.

Walk or cycle along the new, landscaped 3.3km shared path with its native plants and boardwalk before the opening speeches, then join us for a BBQ afterwards.

This latest section will take approximately 40 minutes to walk or 15 minutes to cycle one way.

The celebrations will be cancelled in the event of severe weather conditions.

Broad Bay area - Final Design

Construction of section four (Company Bay to Broad Bay) of the Peninsula Connection is continuing and due for completion by mid 2021.

This planned work is part of the Peninsula Connection road safety project and the latest design has been developed in collaboration with the Otago Peninsula Community Board, the Broad Bay Boating Club and the Broad Bay community.

Following online feedback from the local community, the following changes have been made to the design for the Broad Bay area:

• The number of carparks has been increased by four with the addition of eight new carparks on the waterfront side, between Matariki Street and the Broad Bay Boating Club, offset by the loss of four carparks elsewhere.
• A bus stop has been added at the Matariki Street / Portobello Road intersection.
• The shared path has been widened to 2.5m through the Broad Bay Boating Club carpark
• A separation barrier will be installed between the shared path and the grass area of the Broad Bay Reserve.
• The road-widening design has also been amended to reduce the impact on the Reserve. Although this will still cut into the Broad Bay Reserve, this has been reduced to a maximum of 1m along the length of the reserve.

Thank you for your feedback on the proposed design for the Broad Bay area.

Construction work for the Broad Bay area is due to start in February 2021.

Tree removal, Broad Bay

The Dunedin City Council will be removing trees in Broad Bay from 11 February 2021 to make room for a new crossing, repositioning of a bus shelter and realignment of Portobello Road as part of the Peninsula Connection road safety project.

To make way for intersection improvements including a new crossing, several large Pohutukawa trees on the corner of Portobello Road and Greig Street will need to be removed (see map below). Following feedback from the community, a new raised crossing with a pedestrian refuge in the middle will slow
traffic, helping improve road safety in the Broad Bay area.

The realignment of Portobello Road and repositioning of the bus shelter also means other vegetation will need to be pruned in the area east of the bus shelter.

Replanting will take place in open areas of the site to compensate for the loss of trees. In addition, the slope next to Sandpiper Street will also be planted out.

Overall, there will be an increased area of Broad Bay planted in native tree species, benefiting the community now and in the future.

Broad Bay tree removal at Greig Street

Tree removal at the Broad Bay Reserve

Proposed Broad Bay Reserve Landscape Concept Plan

Landscaping work in Broad Bay Reserve is due to start in April 2021.

The proposed landscaping and replanting in open areas will complement and compensate for the trees removed as part of the road construction.

Broad Bay Reserve Landscape Concept Plan Dec 2020