Sign In / Register
Yet another plea for someone to fix Wellsford’s hazardous herringbone pavers has been made, this time by the local business association to Rodney Local Board.
Wellsford Plus chair Mitch Martin told members on June 19 the town was desperate, as no matter what they did, no one took any notice.
A petition and previous deputation had resulted in no action, nor had reports of serious falls (MM, Apr 1), emails to Auckland Transport’s (AT) chief executive and meeting with AT engineers to show them the problem.
“In July last year, I met with some AT engineers in town and they were quite shocked. They said if this were in urban Auckland, it would have been done yesterday,” Martin said.
“It’s almost like sometimes Wellsford is the forgotten stepchild of the large Supercity.”
Martin said it was a health and safety issue, but everyone kept passing the buck.
“We still have no direction, we’re not part of any plan,” he said. “What steps do we need to take?”
He added that he was sure the $3 million cost quoted by AT to remove the pavers and replace them with concrete could be bettered by using local contractors.
“We all know there are local suppliers who could do it. We’ve had concrete layers offering to lay it for free because of their concern for the town,” he said. “Even if we could get a design done … at the moment we have nothing.”
Michelle Carmichael suggested Wellsford Plus discuss the issue with neighbouring business association One Mahurangi, as it had a number of roading and engineering experts on board.
She also said Martin should get a quote from a local contractor to compare with the AT figures.
