Vehicle crossings/driveways

A vehicle crossing is the formed access for vehicles off a public road into private property. The vehicle crossing will usually replace a portion of the public footpath and/or grass berm. 

A "Before U Dig" inquiry should be made prior to any excavations to check for locations of any underground services. This is a free service that you or your contractor use to get plans and information emailed out to you.

Deposit

A refundable deposit (see Access and transport charges) must be paid to Council before construction of a vehicle crossing. This is held to ensure that all damage to roads, footpaths, grass berms, or other council facilities are repaired satisfactorily.

On completion, the deposit will be refunded less an inspection fee, provided that the vehicle crossing meets council's specifications and all damage to roads, footpaths and berms are repaired satisfactorily.

Responsibilities

It is the responsibility of every owner to provide vehicle access from the road carriageway to the property boundary for the purposes of off street parking or unloading. Generally only one vehicle access per property is permitted.
As the property owner, you are responsible for ongoing maintenance of the vehicle crossing to access your property, including the section in the road corridor/reserve.

Permits

A permit is required to construct or upgrade a vehicle crossing. Vehicle crossings must be approved by Council prior to construction and comply with Council specifications, in accordance with Local Government Act 2002 and the Kāpiti Coast District Council District Plan.

You'll need to submit a completed application form to Council for approval, with:
1. A site plan showing the proposed crossing and any other crossings at the site. The plan should also show the approximate location of the nearest street/road intersections with distances.
2. The width of the crossing at the property boundary.

A refundable infrastructure deposit is payable to the Council before the construction of a vehicle crossing. This is held to ensure any damage to roads, footpaths, grass berms, or other Council facilities are repaired satisfactorily.
On completion, the deposit will be refunded less an inspection fee, provided that the vehicle crossing meets Council’s specifications and any damage is repaired satisfactorily. Current fees and charges are available at Fees and charges.

You may also need a resource consent, depending on the width of the entrance and the position of the crossing in relation to road and side boundaries. There is more information about what may be required on the Council website and your contractor can also offer advice. 

Vehicle crossing installation guidelines

General obligation

It is the responsibility of every owner to provide and pay for a vehicle access from the road carriageway to the property boundary for the purposes of off-street parking or unloading. Generally only one vehicle access per property is permitted. A refundable infrastructure deposit is taken when an application for a building consent is lodged. The deposit is increased when a vehicle crossing is required and for a commercial/Industry vehicle crossing. The deposit is held to ensure that all damages to Council assets in the road reserve are repaired satisfactorily. See Infrastructure deposit for more information.

Planning a vehicle crossing location

1. The first step in planning a vehicle crossing is finding the location of any underground services in the vicinity of the proposed vehicle crossing. This is in the form of a Corridor Access Request (CAR).
   Applications for a CAR are made through the BeforeUdig Website. Ensure that the CAR application is for planning purposes only. The CAR application is automatically sent to the Utility Operators e.g. power, gas, telecommunications, who will return locality plans of their underground services directly to the applicant or contractor. Please note: The "Before U Dig" service has no information on Council's buried water, wastewater or stormwater assets. To find out the services located in the road reserve adjoining your property please us the Council mapping tool in the Council website – click on Services. The tool can be found through this link mapping tools or find it under Documents/Maps on the website. .
2. If this process is not adhered to and any underground services are damaged while constructing a vehicle crossing, a costly penalty by the Utility Operator could be imposed as well as the cost of repairs. Damaging of certain underground services can pose a serious safety risk resulting in the person excavating receiving serious injuries. It will be at the owner’s cost to lower any underground services, if required, to achieve the minimum cover.
3. The vehicle crossing must be located at a minimum of one metre from any stormwater outlets, street sumps, service covers to drains and power or street lighting poles. Should any of these interfere with the only possible crossing position, relocating these services will be at cost to the owner.
4. The water toby and/or any service inspection holes shall be not positioned on the path of the vehicle wheel tracks. Any damage caused by vehicles driving over those assets shall be at the owner’s cost to repair.
5. The position and size of the crossing shall be to the requirements of the Council and to the dimensions as shown on Council Standard Detail drawings (locations to be approved by the Traffic Engineer).
6. Consultation with neighbours is required when a vehicle access crosses the road frontage of neighbouring properties or uses an existing public or shared footpath or driveway.

Application process

7. Complete the “Application to Construct a Vehicle Crossing Form” and lodge it at the Council’s Service Centre. The application will be checked to make sure that all the required information has been supplied, including a site plan of the whole property, the location of the proposed vehicle crossing - relative to the side boundaries, existing ground height/level including dimensions. The application will then be accepted.
8. You must have written Council approval before you start constructing a vehicle crossing. This is usually done as part of a building consent for a new house but new vehicle crossings can also be applied for separately or when an existing vehicle crossing is being replaced or modified.
9. Arrange for a Temporary Traffic Management Plan (TMP) to be prepared by a qualified Site Traffic Management Supervisor (STMS) through the CAR application process for construction purposes. See Access and transport charges for the appropriate CAR fees, depending on the level of work. All costs incurred in the preparation of the TMP by the Traffic Management Services are the responsibility of the applicant. TMP forms can be downloaded from the “Working on the Road” section of our Website. No construction works shall commence until the TMP is approved.

Construction and maintenance

10. The property owner is responsible for the cost of construction of the vehicle crossing serving their property from road carriageway, including the culvert pipe under the driveway. These assets are constructed for the benefit of the property owner in Council road reserve,
11. The construction of the vehicle crossing shall be full construction from road edge to the property boundary. If there is an existing footpath this means that the footpath section will need to be removed and reconstructed to meet vehicle crossing standards. Footpaths are not designed to take vehicle loads. The vehicle crossing must be constructed in accordance with Council specifications and standards (standard drawings).

12. Any maintenance and repair works to the ramp from road edge and access portion of the proposed vehicle crossing, including any culvert under the crossing, shall be at the property owner’s cost. The footpath portion will be maintained by Council for public safety reasons.
13. You are advised to report any existing damage to the road surface, kerb and channel, footpath, and any other assets before you start construction. The reporting of this damage could also include photos or other clear evidence.
14. Your construction options are to:

• include the crossing in your building work contract;
• construct the crossing yourself; or
• employ a qualified contractor to do it for you.

15. Construction of the vehicle crossing must be completed within seven days (one week) from the date of starting the excavation. It is not acceptable for the footpath and grass berm area to be disrupted and left in a dangerous state for any prolonged period of time.
16. If the vehicle crossing is going to have an “exposed aggregate” finish, any slurry washed off the driveway must be contained and not allowed to pollute the Council’s stormwater network.
17. If the crossing is constructed close to berm trees, some form of root guard treatment is advisable to prevent root damage and any effect on the condition of the tree.
18. Any professional concrete placer or builder may install vehicle crossings to the Council’s specifications provided they request an inspection prior to construction of the crossing. This is to ensure compliance with Council specifications and to check that reinforcing is in place prior to pouring concrete. The deposit will be refunded in full provided that any damage to Council assets in the road reserve have been repaired satisfactorily.

Completion sign off

19. On completion, the deposit will be refunded to the payee, less an inspection fee, provided that the vehicle crossing meets Council’s specifications and all damage to Council assets has been repaired satisfactorily. The inspection fee outlined at Infrastructure deposit and covers the engineer’s time for pre and post construction inspections and approvals. On request, Council will issue a Crossing Inspection Letter to confirm that the vehicle crossing has been completed to the required standard.

Enquiries on vehicle crossings to be directed to the Traffic Engineer.