Dominion Road
| Length | 7.3 km (4.5 mi) |
|---|---|
| Location | Auckland, New Zealand |
| Postal code | 1024 (north of Balmoral Road) 1041 (south of Balmoral Road) |
| North end | Ian McKinnon Drive/New North Road |
| Major junctions |
 SH 20 Southwestern Motorway
|
| South end | Hillsborough Road |
Dominion Road is an arterial road in Auckland, New Zealand, running north-south across most of the central isthmus. It is a major public transport route that carries 50,000 bus passengers each week, making it one of the few roads in Auckland on which similar or greater numbers of people travel by public transport than by private car. It achieved some fame by The Mutton Birds' 1992 song titled "Dominion Road".
The street, which passes through mostly suburban areas (and several town centres), has been described as having a colourful mix of shops, exemplified by areas like the "United Nations of restaurants" around the Balmoral town centre. There are claims that the street's development has been held back by uncertainty about future roading / public transport development plans for the last decade, which prevented investment certainty, and led to low shop rents.
The road begins in Eden Terrace as a continuation of Ian McKinnon Drive, which itself begins at upper Queen Street. Ian McKinnon Drive becomes Dominion Road south of a grade-separated intersection over New North Road (grade separation of non-motorway intersections is rare in Auckland). The road then continues in a straight line for almost 6 kilometres (the longest straight stretch of road on the Auckland Isthmus), going through the suburbs of Mt Eden, Balmoral and Mt Roskill until bending slightly just before its intersection with Richardson Road at the Mt Roskill South Shops. Dominion Road Extension then continues until it ends at Hillsborough Road in Waikowhai, overlooking the Manukau Harbour on the southern side of the Auckland isthmus.
Dominion Road, in the extremely car-centric transport plans for Auckland of the 1950s and 1960s, featured as a proposed new motorway route south from the CBD. However, with the exception of the oversized Ian McKinnon Drive / New North Road interchange, this proposal never came to pass. In 2014 a proposal was made to demolish the interchange.
In late 2010, a proposed Council upgrade to the road, which was to focus on improving public transport and cycling links (via 24/7 bus lanes and cycle lanes), created substantial public debate. Conflicting views existed on whether the necessary removal of parking (a good part of which was to be reinstated in side roads as extra angle parking) would significantly harm the road, reducing amenity for locals, and endangering the street's shops. Further heavily criticised was the concurrent proposal by the Citizens & Ratepayers-dominated Council to remove the bus lanes and replace them with transit lanes allowing cars.
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