New look on K Road

Recent new shows that, as the resaon of the coming Rugby World Cup in Auckland, the 40 years old bus shelters on Auckland's Karangahape Road are about to be replaced with new structures set to become a new landmark.

Current bus station on K Road, sourced from http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a9/Karangahape_Road_Motorway_Bridge.jpg

Above two figures are figures of new design of bus shelter on K Road, sourced from http://www.aucklandtrains.co.nz/2011/06/03/k-rd-bus-shelters-new-look/

 This old shelter will soon be demolished to make way for a new look design. The project will include: construciton of new safety screens and a new canopy along the bridge; installation of seating and improved lighting; installation of seating and improved lighting and laying of new footpath surface. According to the pictures above, the new design will be helpful to optimise of the view of K Road and the new shelther seems will provide more comfortable and covenient services to bus users. This project is designed by Opus Architecture, which will ensure that the new shelters are easier to clean and maintain.

Again, I am not a bus people, and have never used the shelter on K Road before, but honestly, this new design really looks good and I believe there will be more people willing to use it after the project finish. As one of the main roads on the walking route to Eden Park and an important business Road, with many heritage buildings on it, K Road does have its significance to the Auckland City. It is understandble for the Council to develop it. Together with  the new business center , that is built early last year, this new shelter will bring the new vital force for this historic road.

However, apart from its aesthetic values, I doubt if this new project will be actually beneficial to its users, especially those used it at night. As we all knew that, K Road is not only famous for its heritage buildings and numerous shops and resturants but also for its rich night life. All types of night clubs are located on it, which make the road a popular  "red light district" in Auckland. Therefore, it is not really safe and comfortable to work on the road at night. For those who use bus at night, I do not think they will care about the place where they are waiting for the bus but the surrounding environment. If the surrounding area is that noisy and disorderly, they will not have the mood to appreciate this shelter and will not even choose to use it.  Also, unlike shelters on Park road or other main roads, the shelter on K Road may need more time and cost to maintain. Located in a road like this, it will get dirty really easily and worse, get damaged by some random people. Therefore, the Council needs to make relevant policy to protect the shelter and to improve the safety of K Road when begin doing  the construction of this project.

Reference:
K Rd bus shelters new look http://www.aucklandtrains.co.nz/2011/06/03/k-rd-bus-shelters-new-look/