Roads of National Significance – Greenfields to Motorway by stealth – Takapu Motorway

Date: February 20, 2014
Author: Kokopu

NZTA quietly decided the Petone to Grenada Link Road would become a Road of National Signficance (RoNS).  The minute note below shows.

This is very signficant.  It means that the road does not have to meet the same cost benefit analysis of other roads, and also gets fast tracked through planning and consent processes and environmental safeguards.

NZTA have suddenly tacked a ‘Takapu Motorway’ (Option D) onto the Petone to Grenada link Road (P2G).  The P2G has been discussed since 1975. In contrast the Takapu Valley Motorway was dropped on residents, farmers and landowners a mere 3 weeks ago out of thin air!  It exists in no planning or consultation documents publically available!  NZTA are giving 6 weeks consultation to fight a motorway from a cold start.  Is this how NZ works these days?

By virtue of NZTA quietly adding P2G to the RoNS (somehow they’re saying the P2G road is in the Wellington Northern Corridor [Wgtn Airport to Levin]), and then suddenly tacking a while new ‘blue sky’ Takapu Motorway on at the last minute, you get from green fields to 4 lane motorway with no District Plan, Strategic Traffic Planning, fair public process, or regard for communities.

Amazingly brazzen feat of total disregard for public process and democracy by New Zealand’s largest Government Ministry

5c
Update from the 28 October 2009 State Highways Board Committee meeting
Resolved:That the New Zealand Transport Agency Board:
Wellington Northern Corridor (Levin to Wellington) Route of National Significance: State Highway/local road considerationa.APPROVES that the Petone–Grenada Link be included in the definition of the Levin toWellington Road of National Significance (RoNS);
b.AGREES to keep the Committee report in Committee until it has made a decision on the overall scope of the Levin to Wellington RoNS and the Minister of Transport has announced the Levin to Wellington RoNS
As I write this, the Petone to Grenada Road website says P2G IS a RoNS project and outlines its tenious link, while the RoNS website map show P2G ISN’T a RoNS?  I expect this to change or the links to die, as we’re fast discovering that NZTA are good at manipulating what they share with the public online.

One comment on “Roads of National Significance – Greenfields to Motorway by stealth – Takapu Motorway”

  1. Pingback: Peter Dunne tells NZTA to drop plans AGAIN. Don’t Govt Departments listen to Cabinet Ministers anymore?! | Takapu Valley - Wellington City. Rural.

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