Consultation
in
Māngere West
Involving the community to increase cyclability in Māngere West
The Māngere West Cycling Improvements consultation rebuilt community trust to ensure local voices were represented in the final proposal.
The Māngere West Cycling Improvements consultation rebuilt community trust to ensure local voices were represented in the final proposal.
The Māngere West Cycling Improvements were originally publicly consulted on in 2020, which led to significant community concern about both the proposal and the consultation process. In 2021, Crank was brought on to lead a new consultation which included collaboration forums, to build trust with locals and include the wider community in the final proposal. The preferred route had progressed through the codesign phase, but many locals had not been directly involved in that process and still associated the project with the earlier proposal.
Crank worked to clearly explain how the proposal had changed, what had remained the same, why some decisions had been made and where community feedback had directly influenced the proposal. It also meant showing how this consultation was part of a much longer collaborative process rather than a repeat of the project's original consultation.
Crank's approach centred on continuity, building directly on the relationships, trust and shared understanding developed through the collaboration forum process. The priority was to help local people understand how the project had evolved since the original 2020 consultation. By coordinating communications, stakeholder engagement and public consultation across multiple related projects, the team helped create a more coherent experience for the community while maintaining momentum and confidence in the project as it progressed toward delivery. Crank worked to ensure the Māngere West Cycling Improvements were understood within the context of the wider active transport programme underway across Māngere.
Working with Triple Teez as our community partner brought deep local knowledge, relationships and lived experience to the project team. Their role was formally resourced during project initiation, allowing them to contribute effectively throughout the process — reviewing communications and design, supporting consultation events, and having conversations with local people.
Crank led the communications strategy and creation of all consultation materials. Working within Auckland Transport's brand guidelines and accessibility requirements, we developed the consultation brochure, feedback survey, engagement boards, posters, signage, stakeholder updates and digital content. We generated feedback questions that simply and effectively gauged sentiment while steering responders to consider future transport choices.
Crank coordinated multiple rounds of reviews with Auckland Transport project teams and senior leadership, as well as local community partners and stakeholders. This ensured technical information was communicated in plain language while remaining relevant and accessible to locals.
Relationships established during the codesign phase remained central throughout consultation.
Crank worked with community partner Triple Teez to plan and deliver seven public engagement stands during the consultation phase to answer questions, gather feedback and hold face-to-face conversations with local people.
Feedback gathered at public engagement stands made up 30% of the total feedback received during consultation. Events were held at busy locations such as Māngere Town Centre Market, Māngere Bridge Village Market and Ngā Hau Māngere Bridge across different days and times to reach a broad mix of local audiences.
Following consultation, Crank analysed the feedback and prepared Auckland Transport's public consultation feedback report. The report was designed to make a complex process easy to understand and to give interested parties something they could refer back to.
Creating the report involved bringing together survey results, key themes, stakeholder submissions and Auckland Transport’s responses. The final report clearly documented what people had said, how the project team had responded, where feedback had influenced the design and what would happen next.
Compared with the original 2020 consultation, the project received significantly stronger overall support. More than 60% of respondents agreed the proposal would make cycling safer and easier, while 52% said they would use the cycleway once it was built.
The relationships built through the project also continued to create value beyond consultation. Community partners, schools and local stakeholders remained involved through construction, activations and later active transport projects across Māngere and Onehunga, providing continuity that extended well beyond a single consultation process.
Following the consultation, Crank was engaged to assist AT with communications and engagement through the pre-construction and construction phases of the project. Having been involved in this project across a number of years, it was especially rewarding to get to ride the completed infrastructure and to continue to work in the area on other projects.
The Māngere West Cycling Improvements were originally publicly consulted on in 2020, which led to significant community concern about both the proposal and the consultation process. In 2021, Crank was brought on to lead a new consultation which included collaboration forums, to build trust with locals and include the wider community in the final proposal. The preferred route had progressed through the codesign phase, but many locals had not been directly involved in that process and still associated the project with the earlier proposal.
Crank worked to clearly explain how the proposal had changed, what had remained the same, why some decisions had been made and where community feedback had directly influenced the proposal. It also meant showing how this consultation was part of a much longer collaborative process rather than a repeat of the project's original consultation.
Crank's approach centred on continuity, building directly on the relationships, trust and shared understanding developed through the collaboration forum process. The priority was to help local people understand how the project had evolved since the original 2020 consultation. By coordinating communications, stakeholder engagement and public consultation across multiple related projects, the team helped create a more coherent experience for the community while maintaining momentum and confidence in the project as it progressed toward delivery. Crank worked to ensure the Māngere West Cycling Improvements were understood within the context of the wider active transport programme underway across Māngere.
Working with Triple Teez as our community partner brought deep local knowledge, relationships and lived experience to the project team. Their role was formally resourced during project initiation, allowing them to contribute effectively throughout the process — reviewing communications and design, supporting consultation events, and having conversations with local people.
Crank led the communications strategy and creation of all consultation materials. Working within Auckland Transport's brand guidelines and accessibility requirements, we developed the consultation brochure, feedback survey, engagement boards, posters, signage, stakeholder updates and digital content. We generated feedback questions that simply and effectively gauged sentiment while steering responders to consider future transport choices.
Crank coordinated multiple rounds of reviews with Auckland Transport project teams and senior leadership, as well as local community partners and stakeholders. This ensured technical information was communicated in plain language while remaining relevant and accessible to locals.
Relationships established during the codesign phase remained central throughout consultation.
Crank worked with community partner Triple Teez to plan and deliver seven public engagement stands during the consultation phase to answer questions, gather feedback and hold face-to-face conversations with local people.
Feedback gathered at public engagement stands made up 30% of the total feedback received during consultation. Events were held at busy locations such as Māngere Town Centre Market, Māngere Bridge Village Market and Ngā Hau Māngere Bridge across different days and times to reach a broad mix of local audiences.
Following consultation, Crank analysed the feedback and prepared Auckland Transport's public consultation feedback report. The report was designed to make a complex process easy to understand and to give interested parties something they could refer back to.
Creating the report involved bringing together survey results, key themes, stakeholder submissions and Auckland Transport’s responses. The final report clearly documented what people had said, how the project team had responded, where feedback had influenced the design and what would happen next.
Compared with the original 2020 consultation, the project received significantly stronger overall support. More than 60% of respondents agreed the proposal would make cycling safer and easier, while 52% said they would use the cycleway once it was built.
The relationships built through the project also continued to create value beyond consultation. Community partners, schools and local stakeholders remained involved through construction, activations and later active transport projects across Māngere and Onehunga, providing continuity that extended well beyond a single consultation process.
Following the consultation, Crank was engaged to assist AT with communications and engagement through the pre-construction and construction phases of the project. Having been involved in this project across a number of years, it was especially rewarding to get to ride the completed infrastructure and to continue to work in the area on other projects.
