NZTA have produced a document called SH1 Ōtaki to Levin Safety Improvements and Speed (10.6 MB PDF), Report on July-August 2021 engagement October 2021.
On Page 8 we read:
Manakau: Waikawa Beach Road
A large number of comments were received regarding the safety of the Waikawa Beach Road intersection with SH1. Due to the difficulty in turning onto SH1, many people advocated for either a controlled intersection or merge lane (both north and south). Other proposed improvements included widening the roadway, removing the traffic island and adding a light to the over bridge.
On Page 9 the Project team provides a response:
Based on stakeholder feedback the project team have reviewed traffic movements at this intersection and agree with the feedback, particularly regarding the difficulty of making a right turn out of Waikawa Beach Road into SH1. The project team reviewed this intersection against other similar intersections with similar traffic levels and are proposing the following improvements to make right turns safer out of the Waikawa Beach intersection:
- Permanent removal of four of the safe hit posts from the painted median area to provide a longer merge length
- Marking a longer right turn ‘pocket’ so that it is clear that people have a longer length in which to merge
- Widening the painted central median area so people are more comfortable turning into, and waiting to merge, in this area and feel safer while doing so
- Narrowing the northbound left turn shoulder leading up to Waikawa Beach, whereby addressing the feedback that left turning vehicles (and those parked on the shoulder) block visibility for right turning drivers exiting Waikawa Beach Road
Finally, a speed review is also considering speeds through this intersection.
Page 9 also mentions:
Provision of a protected footpath between Waikawa Beach Road and the Manakau pedestrian
crossing.
The 42 page report (10.6 MB PDF) (links to the same document as above, but stored on our website) has a lot of other information too, but those are the parts of immediate relevance to Waikawa Beach ratepayers.