Onehung-up: Train Noise is Latest Problem
Posted by Jon C in OnehungaDec 24th, 2009 | 9 responsesOnehunga’s planned new railway link and station continues to show signs of being the black sheep in the Auckland rail family.
What will it take to get it across the line?
It’s accepted the planned station site at the former ITM building is not ideal but, without being able to completely re-design the town, there’s not a lot of available and suitable space.
Local businesses also have been vocal in where they want it to suit their hopes of increased shop traffic and that continues to be debated. Having it closer to Dress Smart would be more ideal that the problems the ITM site brings, not just for business, but for other technical and funding issues as I detailed here last month.
Now neighbours are restless.
There are apartments very close to the ITM site and to be fair to any nearby residents, they may not have expected trains were to arrive soon, even though residents in apartments in the middle of any town should accept there is going to be change, noise, traffic and disruption.
Onehunga's planned train station site with apartments nearby
The ARC has been told that responses from the local Onehunga community are generally supportive, in principle, for the resumption of rail services to Onehunga, but there is “considerable concern about the effects of the rail station and the running of services from neighbours of the site.”
ARTA says it’s committed to investigating the issues, such as noise and vibration, and the chair of the ARC’s transport committee has been asked to meet residents of Onehunga’s 65 Princes Street.
Onehunga's station site is not the best
Newmarket’s new station is also right smack bang n the middle of apartment buildings – but those residents should have known that when they moved in as construction was also happening around them at the time. Some noise shields have been put in place.
To solve the issues there, Project Dart says that the station concourse was designed to be as open and self ventilating as possible which has the benefit of not trapping and reverberating sound from the rail network.
The ceiling panels are also perforated and have acoustic treatment behind them to reduce the noise from the station environment.
PA speakers within the concourse structure have been designed and selected to ensure that there is minimal noise spill to adjacent properties.
The project notes say: “At the platform level, we have incorporated a greater number of small speakers throughout the length of the platform that also limit noise spill and, unlike the old station, remove the need for announcements from a single set of speakers across the entire station which exclude all other sound.”
9 Responses to “Onehung-up: Train Noise is Latest Problem”
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The ARC has completed a noise study at those houses in Onehunga and found the noise level to be well BELOW the acceptable level…
Really the ARC should buy those houses, if the SAL is ever to be extended from the end of the spur (as is the plan) they will eventually have to buy those houses, with the market as it is, it is probably as cheap as it ever will be now…
Its the same old story, everyone wants the infrastructure as long as it isn’t in their back yard.
If I was getting a railway station in my backyard, I would be enjoying the increased property values it is likely to bring, rather than the noise disruptions.
Yes, having stations close by is perfect…hence my purchase of a house only 300 mtrs away from a station.
However, the townhouses in Onehunga should be purchased by ARTA asap and removed. Long term there is no long term for them!
Yeah the most expensive and sought-after housing in Japan are the houses and apartments nearest to railway stations. As Brent says, these guys should be happy in the knowledge that they will have better transport options for themselves and almost certainly a higher value on their property in the future. Many Aucklanders still just don`t get it!
“If I was getting a railway station in my backyard, I would be enjoying the increased property values it is likely to bring, rather than the noise disruptions.”
What if you were only renting and not going to use it because your job is, say, in Sandringham? Not all nimby-like comments are really nimbyism.
@Max I disagree.
First up if our theoretical renter is not personally in a position to use the service that’s not a reason to block them.
I assume this person also leaves home to do things other than work. They now have a zippy means of getting to/from Newmarket for shopping, movies, going out…
And, in the case of Onehunga, the railway was there first.
sorry bad wording – “to block them” should read “to block the service altogether and deny everyone else a service”.
And another point – electric trains, especially modern ones, aren’t all that loud. The diesels will only be for the line’s first couple of years of service.
I pay more for my flat in London because it is by a railway station. The onehunga station should be built across Galway Street, then is can be a junction for the future Southdown line. I know it will split Galway street but I’m sure the business could cope!