Newsletter #26 -16 March 2017
In this week’s issue, we want your feedback. Please make a submission to the NZTA about the poor motorway connections to Warkworth. Also, please tell us what you think about what can be done with the $300,000 budget for interim improvements to the Hill Street intersection.
SUBMISSIONS
There were two excellent letters to the Rodney Times and Mahurangi Matters – one from a member of our team, Roger Williams. Find them here: http://bit.ly/2my9yl3.
The common theme is that Warkworth is poorly connected to the Puhoi to Warkworth motorway and the Warkworth to Te Hana stage compounds the problem. The question is simple: Why are there full interchanges to the north and south of Wellsford while Warkworth gets two confusing partial interchanges to the north?
Here is a PDF of the indicative route: http://bit.ly/2lLpZxF. If you zoom in, you can see the proposed designs of the connections.
Our position is that there needs to be a full interchange for Puhoi, a full interchange to the south of Warkworth, and a full interchange to the north or the urban boundary. The two proposed partial interchanges to the north should be combined, saving $50-100m, which can be spent on a full interchange to the south, near the proposed southern urban boundary at Valerie Close. As Carran, Wylie and Kaipara Flats Roads are being realigned for the motorway, these roads could form an outer ring road with a connection to Woodcocks Road. The Matakana Link could also be realigned to connect with the Kaipara Flats and Goatley Road intersection.
Please email submissions before the end of the month to: warkworth-wellsford@nzta.govt.nz. Tell them how annoyed you are by the poor design of the Warkworth connections to the motorway. As they say, if you don’t complain now, don’t complain later.
Below is a graphic illustrating potential motorway and road connections. Please download the image to take a closer look.
MONEY WELL SPENT?
After the NZTA worked out that the Matakana Link will produce only $21m worth of benefits for the $42m cost (http://bit.ly/2m5rDrb), Auckland Transport is spending a further $1.2m on consultants to develop a business case for it and protect the route (http://bit.ly/2n4yEf8).
The only thing that will make the Matakana Link feasible is a doubling of congestion at the Hill Street intersection. Strangely, the Northern Growth Cell of the Unitary Plan will deliver that but will also clog up the Matakana Link as well. Brilliant!
WHAT CAN WE GET FOR $300,000?
Auckland Transport released the results of the Elizabeth Street trial. They gave this presentation: http://bit.ly/2mJALFH.
The Mahurangi Matters ran this story: http://bit.ly/2nfdg7K. According to the article, Auckland Transport has a funding cap of $300,000 for works under the minor improvements programme, which excludes feasibility and investigation processes.
We rang around a few contractors to find out what $300,000 could buy us. We showed them this diagram from last week (http://bit.ly/2nyseTw). They could do it for much less than $300,000. Any money left over can extend the turning lanes on Matakana and Sandspit Roads.
It’s a start and would work with a longer term solution. What do you reckon? Please download the image to take a closer look.
THANK YOU
Thank you for subscribing and thank you to donors and volunteers who have got our campaign into full swing. Please contact us if you would like to donate, volunteer, or have any suggestions.
To make a donation, our bank account details are:
Account Name: “FixHillStreetNow Action Group” Bank Account Number: 12-3095-0042062-00.
