One of the country’s fastest growing shopping districts has been let down by transport officials, its owners say.
Westgate, in northwest Auckland, has experienced huge population and commercial growth as shoppers flock to the area for a bargain.
New Zealand Retail Property Group’s general manager of projects Campbell Barbour said the project has been 20 years in the making.
“It was always meant to be like this — we’re just putting the pieces in the puzzle now,” he told 1News.
The puzzle pieces include some of the largest stores in the country, including Bunnings, Costco, and new Asian supermarket Foodie.
Last week it was announced the town centre would also be home to Aotearoa’s largest Kmart. The 24-hour store will span 6700sq metres when it opens at Maki Place Retail Centre in two years’ time.
But traffic woes are causing a headache for Westgate Town Centre, Westgate Properties and NZRPG Management.
Urban planning expert Tim Welch said plans have been in the works to develop the area “for quite a long time”.
“What hasn’t developed as well is a plan to manage all the traffic.”
Westgate’s owners are taking Auckland Council and Auckland Transport (AT) to the Court of Appeal this week after an unsuccessful legal challenge in 2022.
“Auckland Transport has really let the community down and let Westgate down,” Barbour said.
AT said it’s working alongside the New Zealand Transport Agency to consider a range of options to reduce congestion, including rapid transit along the Northwestern Motorway/State Highway 16, more high-frequency bus routes, more lanes, and a new bus station.
The transport service is also actively monitoring the roads to see where adjustments can be made.
In the meantime, traffic in the area is expected to worsen.
“The next stage of the evolution of this place is mixed use and office and residential,” Barbour said.
