Media Statement 11am - 12 October 2006
Transit’s ring road tolling plan does not address region’s most pressing need
Waitakere City Council says Transit’s proposal does not help Waitakere and does very little to deal with the region’s
number one transport problem, which is traffic congestion.
“It’s bizarre to build a “hot lane” right through the middle of our city, with an on and off ramp at Hobsonville in the
north west – nearly North Shore - and the other at Avondale in Auckland City, says Mayor Bob Harvey
“In between those two points, a city of 180,000 people has no access. Our people – and importantly our business and
commercial traffic - will have to continue to sit in dense traffic on the North-Western Motorway and Hobsonville Road,”.
“The fact is that this city contributes 30,000 vehicles twice a day to Auckland congestion and congestion costs the
region $1billion a year.
“The principal way we are going to solve that in Waitakere is by developing more local employment to reduce the number
of people leaving the city. For that we need economic growth and that means more and bigger businesses. Businesses need
easy convenient access to the city,” he says.
“What we are saying, therefore, is that for this toll road to work for us and the region, Waitakere needs convenient
access within the city at Westgate, Te Atatu and Lincoln Road and preferably both,” he says.
“Business traffic access is the one thing we wanted from Transit in order to achieve economic transformation that will
serve us and the region well into the future – and that is the one thing we’re not going to get under this proposal, as
it stands,” he says.
“Rather than a solution that benefits the whole region, therefore, Transit has revealed a plan that will relieve some
congestion in Auckland while adding more congestion, more toxic emissions and more noise to Waitakere,” Mayor Harvey
says.
“Quite clearly, Transit has not understood the big picture of regional needs and this shows the weaknesses of a
centralised highway planning system that is not leavened by local knowledge. It emphasises the need for proper regional
road and transport planning,” he says.
Mr Harvey says he is going to call a meeting of Waitakere MPs to discuss “in no uncertain terms” how they can support
the city achieve what it needs in terms of long term transport planning
ENDS