Cornwall Park closed: bosses shut gates to stop short-cutting Auckland commuters

Brian from New Lynn

Cornwall Park is a morning haven for Auckland joggers and dog walkers once more, with its gates closing to motorists during peak morning traffic. From today, park bosses are closing the gates at Myers Dr and the Olive Grove until 9.30am on weekdays, to prevent commuters attempting to use the park's roads as a shortcut between Manukau Rd and Green Lane East. "The park's purpose, and the reason it was gifted to Aucklanders, is for it to be a place of recreation for everyone, and this is not consistent with high volumes of often fast through-traffic," park director Michael Ayrton said. He suggested commuters might actually find it faster to use main roads anyway. "I think if you drive down Greenlane West and turn left and go down Manukau Rd, you'll find it's quite a bit quicker than cutting through the park, which contains 25 speed humps and three pedestrian crossings." Ayrton said the gate closure will allow people to walk their dog, go for a jog or enjoy the spring daffodils in the mornings, without the stream of vehicles. There will still be vehicle access from 7am through four other gates - and weekend and public holiday opening times will not change. The feedback had been mixed about the change, Ayrton said. "The majority of our regular park users are pleased to see it. But this is nothing new, we've had a number of car-less days in the park in the past couple of years ... I think more and more people are getting used to the idea."
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