PENLINK FINAL S 122C REPORT

Whangaparaoa Road "Widening"

This very brief section of the report is inserted merely to identify a possible alternative (the alternative most often raised by opponents to the bridge) to PENLINK - that is the widening of Whangaparaoa Road.

Other alternative solutions to the Peninsula's roading problem including a "do nothing", option, a causeway or tunnel are no longer accepted by most as being viable alternatives.

The widening of Whangaparaoa Road however remains a "live" alternative.  Common sense alone suggests that it is worthy of further review.  Cr Walker's detailed press release [ref;  Press Release dated 24/02/2002] makes the case for this option.  Other Councillors should evaluate his arguments and more critically examine the RDC Management's view that "widening is not a runner".  Reasons given for this position are at least contestable.  The widening option has not found favour particularly with supporters of PENLINK.  It must be noted that some widening is proposed as part of the PENLINK project but this is merely incidental to the project rather than of itself a major contributor to a solution to the peninsula's traffic problems.

As a principal and genuine alternative solution, the widening option has been cast by its critics as a greatly inferior option to PENLINK due mainly to the very major impact that widening on the large scale required would have on numerous private properties.

Cr Walker's views relating to widening, promote some lower impact works which he suggests would alleviate the traffic situation, at least in the short to medium term.

Rather than dismiss this alternative "out of hand" it may represent an option which has the merit of buying time until PENLINK or other solutions are implementable.

For if the time for PENLINK at present is not right, widening of Whangaparaoa Road could be completed so that it fitted into the critical path of later more comprehensive traffic strategies.  These would include the greater use of public transport.

Justification for these views also resides in the fact that the Whangaparaoa roadway lends itself, over a good part of its length to some widening.  Such (more constrained) widening may, as Cr Walker points out be enough in the medium term to cater for as he states the "less than expected" growth in Peninsula traffic volumes.  The very major, admittedly adverse impacts of extensive widening of the road, most often advanced by its critics can be ameliorated if the will to do this is present.

Further comment in this report on this matter including RDC Management's and Cr Walker's forthright and opposing stances on traffic volume data are avoided.  See also [ref; Rodney Times article 26/02/2002]  Much could be debated, including whether or not widening of Whangaparaoa Road is in fact a solution or not.  Councillors need to make up their own minds on these points and if need be to insist that Management conduct further even-handed assessments of this (and other?) alternatives.