Western Springs Accessibility Project

09.03.23

An exciting vision

The Western Springs precinct is home to some of the best-loved attractions and facilities in Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland, including MOTAT and Auckland Zoo.

With facilities such as Western Springs Stadium, sports clubs, Western Springs Park, TAPAC and schools, it is a vibrant community hub that welcomes thousands of residents and visitors weekly.

An exciting vision for the area is for it to be a cohesive precinct offering inter-generational learning, cultural knowledge, sustainability, conservation, inspiration, education, exercise, science, technology and good environmental outcomes, with clear wayfinding, easy walking and cycling connections – and safe, reliable parking. 

 

Creating safe, reliable access

Regular visitors to the area will know that finding parking when visiting MOTAT, Auckland Zoo or any of the other facilities in the precinct can be challenging. 

Tātaki Auckland Unlimited (Auckland Zoo and Western Springs Stadium), MOTAT and other Western Springs stakeholders are taking an integrated approach to the challenge.

MOTAT has completed the construction of a car park at its Motions Road site (MOTAT Aviation Hall), with support from Tātaki Auckland Unlimited, Auckland Council, Auckland Transport and the Waitematā Local Board. We are working together to improve wayfinding, accessibility and safety across the Western Springs precinct.

You can find out all about the MOTAT Aviation Hall reopening and the adjoining new MOTAT car park here.

Western Springs Accessibility Project

Changes to the Western Springs Precinct

An additional MOTAT car park is now open at the Aviation Hall, 98 Motions Road.

More parking choices

Parking is currently free of charge at MOTAT's Aviation Hall new car park, at Auckland Zoo's car park, and the Zoo car park outside TAPAC. However, these parking areas will all become paid parking from 8 March 2023.  

  • Parking will cost $2 per hour and will be capped at $8. This reasonable charge will cover the cost of ongoing maintenance of the car parks and any surplus will go directly to MOTAT and Auckland Zoo to help support the great work they do.
  • There will be some unrestricted on-street parking on Old Mill Road, Motions Road and Great North Road.
  • For the paid car parks, there will be electronic signage to let visitors know where paid parking spots are available. Availability of car parking will be visible via the Auckland Transport App.
  • Some of the on-street parking will be P180 time-restricted, to make sure there is turnover of car parks and availability.

While paid, reliable parking will be a boon for those who need to use their cars, we also have improved connectivity to encourage the use of public transport, walking and cycling.

Alongside the new car park, MOTAT is building a shared walking and cycling path. The path will connect with the Meola Road cycleway at one end and with Western Springs College at the other. Visitors will be able to walk, ride or catch the free MOTAT tram to stops outside of TAPAC, Auckland Zoo, Western Springs Park, and with bus stops on Great North Road and Meola Road.

More information

The FAQs below have more information about the background to the project and how visitors could get around the precinct to visit their favourite attractions or community facilities. These will be kept updated.

If you want to know more about the integrated approach across the Western Springs Precinct, please email info@aucklandunlimited.com

If you have a query specific to parking at or visiting the Zoo or MOTAT please visit their websites.

The vision for the area is a cohesive precinct with clear wayfinding, easy walking and cycling connections – and safe, reliable parking.

Parking is charged at $2 per hour, capped at $8 for the day, regardless of long visitors stay.

The aim of the project is to adopt an integrated approach across the precinct, providing more car park spaces and improving safety, security and customer experiences. This includes improved signage and wayfinding, better accessibility (with more dedicated accessibility car parks) and more reliable parking close to the attractions. At the same time, free on-street parking options will remain for visitors to the precinct.

Audience research over the last few years indicates that one in four visitors to the Western Springs precinct drive away as they are unable to find a car park near MOTAT and the Zoo. This has been a point of frustration for our visitors and the local community for many years; and one that the changes will help to address.

Paid parking at MOTAT’s new car park alongside the Aviation Hall at 98 Motions Road, at the Zoo, and at the Zoo’s parking outside TAPAC began on 8 March 2023.

Parking availability and wayfinding infrastructure is in place at MOTAT, with digital signage coming for Auckland Zoo.

 

Tātaki Auckland Unlimited, Auckland Zoo and MOTAT have been working on this joint initiative over the last three years, with other precinct stakeholders. It not only addresses parking requirements for the Zoo and MOTAT, but also those of their neighbours and those who use other facilities in the Western Springs Precinct.

The approach also enables Auckland Transport to provide more options for visitors to the precinct (see Point Chev to Westmere Improvements). The new carpark at MOTAT incorporates a cycle and pedestrian way that connects Meola Road to Motions Road and the Western Springs and local schools which will encourage new ways of travelling, creating a more connected precinct.

The Western Springs Precinct Stakeholder Group identified parking and access as key challenges to realising and supporting the future of the Precinct. This became the driver behind the inception of the Western Springs Precinct Accessibility Project and research was done to establish there was a demand for parking to be better managed, plus a need for additional parking.

Audience research showed that one in four visitors to the Western Springs precinct drive away as they are unable to find a car park near MOTAT and the Zoo. This has been a point of frustration for our visitors and the local community for many years . This is being addressed by the construction of the new 198+ space car park on closed landfill land. The parking charges will be applied towards the monitoring and maintenance of the MOTAT and Zoo carparks, and the important conservation work undertaken by our respective institutions.

The new carpark located outside of the MOTAT Aviation Hall is accessible via Motions Road. Please note that access is not possible via Meola Road.

There will be improved wayfinding signage with all car parks accessed from Motions Road, and car parks will be clearly marked Western Springs parking.

There will be a range of other choices, including:

  • Some unrestricted on-street parking along Old Mill Road, Motions Road and Great North Road
  • Hopping on a bus
  • Walking and cycling, with new paths being built and planned for better connectivity throughout the precinct

Some on street parking areas will be P180 time-controlled to make sure there is a turnover of car parks.

Electronic signage will indicate how many car parks are available. Electronic signage is available at car park 3 (MOTAT) and will be introduced in the coming months at car parks 1 and 2 (Zoo and outside TAPAC).

The parking charges will apply from 9am to 5pm. Car park 3 at MOTAT will be closed 6pm to 9am. Carparks 1 and 2 (Auckland Zoo and outside TAPAC) will be free parking at night. From time to time events could impact parking availability.

Auckland Transport’s planned Meola Road Cycleway Project will include walking, cycling and public transport connection improvements along Point Chevalier Road, Meola Road and part of Garnet Road.

The MOTAT car park at the Aviation Hall site also includes a new walk and cycleway that connects Motions Road to Meola Road. In due course, this will connect with the planned Auckland Transport Meola Road Cycleway once the cycleway is built.

In the long term, the objective for both MOTAT and the Zoo is to shift visitors to the precinct towards alternative and more environmentally-friendly transport forms, including public transport, walking and cycling.

The revenue generated by paid parking will help pay for the improved infrastructure (including more planned car spaces) and ongoing operational and maintenance costs. Any surplus will support the valuable work of Auckland Zoo and MOTAT. These organisations will not benefit from infringement fees, which are handled by Auckland Transport (see infringement information).

 

Vehicle infringement fines are standardised regardless of where they occur. For more information please see Auckland Transport's infringement information. 

No. This work was planned several years ago as part of the overall vision to improve parking availability, accessibility, visitor security and safety across Western Springs. Paid parking was originally scheduled to begin mid-2022, before it was delayed for logistical reasons.

While any surplus from paid parking will support the valuable work of Auckland Zoo and MOTAT, the Zoo will not benefit from infringement fees, which are handled by Auckland Transport.

The Project has engaged with a range of stakeholders, as shown below. Feedback from stakeholders and public pricing research was considered in setting the parking charges.

Research and consultation included:

  • Stakeholder consultations in March-April 2019. These informed the Western Springs Parking Management Draft Proposal, prepared by Auckland Transport in June 2019
  • A second round of stakeholder consultation was undertaken in July 2019
  • Pricing research was done via an online population survey. The same survey was supplied to Auckland Zoo and MOTAT members and email databases. Research was completed in March 2020.

MOTAT has accessible parking immediately outside the Aviation Hall, free of charge. Accessible parking spaces have been provided near the entrances to the Zoo, and accessible parking is provided outside TAPAC. These are public spaces that will also be paid parking zones. There are also free drop off zones outside TAPAC and Western Springs College. Please talk to the venues you will be visiting ahead of time if you have any special needs or concerns.

While there will be a minimal charge for parking in the Western Springs Precinct, there will be no charge for using MOTAT’s trams to move between MOTAT Motions Road, the Auckland Zoo and MOTAT Great North Road. We hope this will help whānau with small tamariki travel to attractions within Western Springs with ease.

The car park adjacent to Western Springs College - Ngā Puna o Waiōrea is maintained by Auckland Zoo for use by visitors to Auckland Zoo and MOTAT. College leadership has indicated that they prefer students to use alternative and more sustainable forms of transport for travel to and from school. Those students that choose to bring their cars to school can still park for free along Motions Road and Old Mill Road (though some spaces on the Zoo side are time-restricted to 3 hours). Alternatively, they need to pay the parking fees to use the Zoo’s car park, capped at $8 per day.  

At an early stage in the project, the car park layout outside Western Springs College was improved to allow for bus drop offs and we are working towards improved bus drop off for school groups visiting Auckland Zoo.

The Zoo front entrance is a five-to-ten-minute walk from the new MOTAT car park. The MOTAT tram is free to use from the car park, and it also stops outside of Auckland Zoo and can take you to the MOTAT Great North Road site. We hope this will help whanau with small tamariki travel to attractions within Western Springs with ease.

If your query is about the integrated approach across the Western Springs Precinct, please email info@aucklandunlimited.com

If you have a query specific to parking at or visiting the Zoo or MOTAT, please visit their websites.