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Driveways, vehicle crossings and access standards

Driveways and vehicle crossings

A driveway is a vehicle access lane located on private property.

A vehicle crossing starts where the driveway leaves the legal boundary of a property and continues until it meets the road. It allows vehicles to cross over berms or pavements to access the road.

Vehicle crossing resource consents

The standards around the number, location and separation distances for a vehicle crossing are found under chapter E27 of the Auckland Unitary Plan.

For sites in the Hauraki Gulf Islands area, these requirements are found in Part 13 of the Auckland Council District Plan (Hauraki Gulf Islands Section).

If you are planning a vehicle crossing that does not meet these standards, you must apply for a resource consent.

Vehicle crossing building consents

New houses need a suitable existing vehicle crossing. If the proposed house location does not have one, you must apply for a vehicle crossing with your building consent.

Applying for a vehicle crossing

If you want to build, modify or repair a vehicle crossing, you must get written approval from Auckland Transport before you start work.

Applications will be checked to ensure the correct information is supplied, including a site plan showing the complete property, and the location of the proposed vehicle crossing relative to the side boundaries (including dimensions).

Each application is also checked to ensure it complies with chapter E27 of the Auckland Unitary Plan (PDF 746KB). For sites in the Hauraki Gulf Islands, applications are checked against Part 13 of the Auckland Council District Plan (Hauraki Gulf Islands Section) (PDF 1,675KB).

Any vehicle crossings from existing roads within a subdivision must follow the application process.

Vehicle crossings on proposed new roads in a new subdivision development are not covered by this application process. These will be approved by us as part of the subdivision resource consent process.

To learn more on the application process, visit the Auckland Transport website.

Site access design for vehicles

It is important that all sites have vehicle access for everyday use and in emergency situations.

The design of the driveway depends on how many sites need access to the road.

Key criteria for designing vehicle access

The key criteria is that the total width and other dimensions comply with the standards.

Design criteria	1 site	2-5 sites	6-10 sites
Minimum legal width	3.0m	3.5m	6.5m
Minimum formed width	2.5m	3.0m	5.5m
Minimum service strip	0.5m	0.5m	1.0m
Maximum length	50m	50m	100m
Maximum gradient	1 in 4	1 in 5	1 in 5
Minimum vertical clearance from buildings or structures	3.8m	3.8m	3.8m
Minimum inside turning radius for bends	6.5m	6.5m	6.5m

You should know

The design, length, number of sites serviced, and construction materials used for the access will vary on soil conditions and an engineer's assessment.

Requirements for long access strips

For access strips greater than 50m in length, speed management measures should be considered.

Access to rear sites

You can access up to 10 rear sites with an access strip, right-of-way easement, or driveway.

If you have a rear site that does not have direct access to a formed legal road, then a driveway will need to be constructed.

This driveway will need to provide:

an entrance strip forming part of the site
a jointly-owned access lot
a rights-of-way easement over adjoining land
a combination of these mechanisms.

Pedestrian access

If your access strip is serving six or more rear sites it must also provide separate pedestrian access, which may be located within the formed driveway.

The pedestrian access must meet all of the following:

have a minimum width of 1m (can include the service strip)
be distinguished from the vehicle carriageway through the use of a raised curb or different surface treatment.