MEDIA ADVISORY

New Western Corridor Plan Launch – Tuesday 21 February, 12.30pm

20 February 2006
Option3 will be publicly launched on Tuesday 21 February at 12.30pm by a panel of experts and laypeople

Option3 is a new practical and affordable initiative to make progress on the Western Corridor.

What is Option3?

Option3 is a positive response to the current ‘this road or that road’ Western Corridor debate. Option3 offers safer, less congested roads, better public transport and a stronger regional economy. Option3 is focused on affordable solutions that work and can start now. Option3 aims to show the Wellington Regional Council there is strong public support for a solution that moves on from the “unaffordable vs unconsentable” impasse.

Option3 has been developed by a group of community and business interests with support on the Kapiti Coast and in Wellington City. The group has been formed because many people believe there are more and better choices than Transmission Gully versus Coastal Four Lane Highway.

ENDS

OPTION 3 WILL BE LAUNCHED WITH A PHOTO OPPORTUNITY FOLLOWED BY A MEDIA CONFERENCE.

A: THE FOLLOWING PEOPLE WILL SPEAK BRIEFLY AT THE MEDIA CONFERENCE
Speakers:
Karl Baker, Option3 spokesperson: Has worked as an electrical tradesperson in Wellington. Sick of tackling increasing congestion to get to jobs every day, Karl left his job to help set up Option3.

Karl has recently returned from living overseas. After seeing efficient, working transport systems in vibrant cities around the world, he is appalled at the backward-looking, road-based proposals for the western corridor. He sees Option3 as offering world-class transport thinking for an even better Wellington region.

Paula Warren: Represented public transport users, pedestrians and cyclists on the Regional Land Transport Committee for several years when early decisions were made on the Western Corridor.
For health reasons, she does not have a drivers license, and a key focus for her work has been on ensuring that everyone can live a normal, independent life without a car.

Spencer Crocker is an IT Specialist, who has lived in New Zealand since moving from the UK in September 2003.

He worked for 5 years in the City of London for several investment banks and knows first hand how the choices available to commuters affect business and individuals. He brings an international perspective on commuting, its joys and its miseries, as well as a focus on business needs in the 21st Century.

Dr Ralph Chapman is Associate Professor and Director of the Graduate Program in Environmental Studies at Victoria University of Wellington. He also remains Principal of Maarama Consulting, specialising in environmental economics.

He has worked on international climate change negotiations and is a former Manager of the Strategic Policy at the Environment Ministry. He has also worked in the New Zealand and British Treasury Departments. Ralph has a first class honours degree in engineering, a Masters in public policy, and a PhD in economics.

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