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Subdivision & Neighbourhood Design Wawaetanga Whenua

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Vehicle access Print

Design Outcome

Subdivision design incorporates vehicle access to sections. Future purchasers are made aware when sections are subject to vehicle access restrictions, such as steep slopes.

​​​​​​​​​​​​​Planning for vehicle access, particularly on sloping sites or sites adjoining busy roads, can be a major limitation on house design and must be considered early in the subdivision design. 

Circumstances where vehicle access is dictated include: 

  • sloping lots, due to the need for workable gradients from the street onto a parking pad, including transitions 
  • lots along busy roads, due to the need for on-site manoeuvring 
  • corner lots, due to the need to locate vehicle crossings as far away from the intersection as possible
  • lots along roads that have formed parking bays along them, due to the need to avoid vehicle crossings from cutting through the parking spaces.​​​

Better Design Practice

Lots should be designed so that vehicle access does not result in:
    • footpaths undermined by the presence of too many vehicle crossings
    • wide, sweeping vehicle crossings that allow cars to cross the footpath at very high speeds
    • the need for inefficient flush medians and other road features that allow for vehicles to queue before turning off the road
    • building platforms that are surrounded by driveways and turning spaces, and the associated noise these bring.
  • Ensure vehicle crossings do not result in a loss of existing on-street parking bays. 
  • Ensure purchasers are told when lots have restrictions (whether regulatory or practical) on where vehicle access can be located. 
  • Street and block design should avoid a prevalence of garages dominating the public street environment, by incorporating rear lanes and parking courts where possible.

Rules of Thumb

1. Include details of street trees, on-street parking bays and locations where vehicle access into sites could be provided without conflicting with street trees or parking bays on the subdivision’s landscaping plan.


2. Consider imposing requirements on how close to street trees a vehicle crossing can be without being subject to specific design requirements.


This can remove future problems associated with root growth damaging driveways and demand for tree removal by residents.

3. Consider planning lots to have shared vehicle access to minimise disruption to the street’s amenity.

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