My Account
Whether or not the Matakana link road should be four lanes or two was not an issue within the remit of the hearings panel, which met in Orewa last week to consider the road’s designation and associated resource consents.
During presentations by Forest and Bird Warkworth, Warkworth Liaison Group and Omaha Beach Community Inc, panel chair Alan Watson explained that the panel was not in a position to rule on whether or not the road should be four lanes, “unless it could be shown that two lanes would adverse effects”.
The Notice of Requirement for the designation and associated resource consents put forward by Auckland Transport (AT) was for two lanes in Stage 1 (opening in late 2021) and four lanes in Stage 2 (post-2036).
“Under the Resource Management Act, there are distinct limitations on what we can do,” Mr Watson said.
More than 150 individual submissions urged AT to ensure that the road was built with four lanes from the outset.
Link road views shared
Auckland Transport put its case for the Matakana link roadto a panel of three commissioners during a three-day hearing in Orewa last week (March 27-29).
Under consideration was a Notice of Requirement and associated regional resource consents for the construction, operation and maintenance of the link road– Tuhonohono ki Tai (Pathway to the Sea).
The panel, which has 15 days to deliberate and deliver its decision, was chaired by
Alan Watson. The other panelists were Michael Parsonson and Peter Reaburn.
Auckland Transport has proposed a 1.35km long, four-lane road, between Matakana Road and State Highway 1.
Stage 1 provides for two lanes of traffic and is scheduled to start in October this year with a planned opening date of 2021. It will include a walking and cycling pathway on the southern side of the road and the estimated cost of $63 million includes design, land and construction.
Stage 2 is programmed to happen between 2036 and 2046, and will involve works to provide for a full four-lane corridor and cycling and walkway facilities on the northern side. The cost is estimated at $16 million.
On the first day of proceedings, legal counsel for AT, Jill Gregory, said the project would facilitate urban growth in Warkworth, provide capacity and resilience to the transport network, and positively contribute to the urban environment. Network congestion, particularly on Matakana Road and at Hill Street, would be reduced.
Ms Gregory said based on growth numbers, timing and transport movements, four lanes would not be needed before 2036.
“AT has limited funds and staging allows for prudent, affordable and efficient investment decisions to be made,” she said.
Ms Gregory made it clear that the commissioners had no lawful ability to require AT to provide four lanes from the start.
“The commissioners are limited to recommending conditions on the designation to address environmental effects of the proposed staging approach.”
While adjoining landowners requested that intersection locations along the road be determined and provided for through the designation process, Ms Gregory said this was not the appropriate time to determine these locations.
“Each landowner will need to go through a resource consent process to confirm the subdivision and development yields and that is the appropriate time to confirm the form and location of the intersections.”
Ms Gregory’s submission also covered the locations and form of stormwater wetlands, the relocation of the SH1 intersection, noise (particularly around the Warkworth showgrounds and sportsfields) and groundwater conditions.
Commissioners asked if the Western Collector link roadhad been factored into AT’s modelling, and wanted to know why the modelling had not taken a bespoke approach to include holiday and weekend traffic.
Transport planner Mehmet Ahmet said the Western Collector was not a committed scheme, therefore, it had not been modelled. He added that modelling week day peaks was the normal approach.
Warkworth resident Roger Williams, who presented on behalf of Forest and Bird Warkworth and the Warkworth Liaison Group, felt water quality issues had been totally ignored. He said the road would cross a pristine tributary to the Mahurangi River and water quality monitoring should start prior to construction.
He also wanted Auckland Transport to re-think the route for the walkway/cycleway on the southern side of the road. He said a pathway that ran along the northern side of the A&P Showgrounds would provide better connectivity, as well as costing less to build.
Mr Williams said the liaison group believed the two-lane road would soon reach capacity, and retrofitting the additional two lanes would be disruptive and costly.
“Build it once and build it right,” he said. “Flawed traffic modelling has lead to the two land proposal.”
Panel chair Alan Watson reiterated that the commissioners could not rule on two lanes versus four, “unless it could be shown that two lanes would adverse effects”.
Omaha Beach Community Group representative Martin Dancy said later that building a two-lane road would have enormous negation socio economic effects.
He wanted better connectivity, four lanes not two at the outset, new intersections to industrial estates controlled by roundabouts not traffic lights, and a flexible tender process for contractors.
Traffic expert Donald McKenzie said, on behalf of the Stellan Trust, which along with Goatley Holdings is developing a 94-lot industrial subdivision along the northern boundary of the link road, that AT had under-estimated traffic volumes.
He said the new subdivision alone would generate around 1400 movements a day.
Developer Craig Clark said the elephant in the room was the contractual arrangements between NX2 and NZTA.
“NZTA is more concerned about meeting its contractual obligations to NX2 than providing a coordinated roading network,” he said.
On day two of the public hearing Goatley Holdings presented, arguing for two intersections to provide access to its planned subdivision, adjacent to the Matakana link road.
Barrister Bronwyn Carruthers, who represented Goatley, said it was astounding no plans had yet been made by Auckland Transport to provide access to the subdivision after two years of discussion.
Engineer Ian Hutchinson said that from a technical standpoint, creating two intersections to connect the subdivision and the link road would be simple.
“The land has been intentionally lifted three-metres to be compatible with the link road. The cut and fill would not be higher than your water jug,” Mr Hutchinson said to the commissioners.
Goatley Holdings’ suggested plan includes a roundabout for the first intersection to allow for quick left turns, and a second signalled intersection providing pedestrian and cycle access.
Traffic engineer Don McKenzie said Auckland Transport’s traffic modelling used for its two-lane proposal had not catered for the increased traffic caused by the subdivision.
Further, the designation of land for the link road was not wide enough to accommodate the roundabout suggested by Goatley.
Planner Burnette O’Connor, who also presented on behalf of Goatley, said that the two-lane proposal did not accommodate the planned 2300 dwellings on either side of the link road laid out in Council’s draft Warkworth Structure Plan.
“As a resident, I don’t believe that two lanes will meet the objectives of the road. It would be a stepping stone in terms of diverting traffic from Hill Street, but it wouldn’t facilitate growth because of a lack of room for intersections,” Ms O’Connor said.
“The traffic modelling doesn’t seem to address weekend peaks. Currently, I can’t visit friends in Omaha from Warkworth because of the traffic times,” she said.
Rodney Local Board chair Beth Houlbrooke presented on behalf of the Warkworth community, based on feedback on the 2017 Board plan.
She opposed a suggestion by Goatley Holdings that a road be built through the Warkworth Showgrounds because it would create a “rat run” and increase traffic in a facility used by families.
Ms Houlbrooke also wanted AT to reconsider having a cycle lane along the whole length of the link road, suggesting it should instead divert through the showgrounds to provide connectivity to Warkworth. She wanted it to cater for a link to a future park and ride in Warkworth.
The property arm of foodstuffs, National Trading Company (NTC), focussed its presentation on the intersection between SH1 and the link road.
One of the prominent questions of the day was whether the intersection should be shifted 25 metres north-west in order to align with a future western link road.
Lawyer Douglas Allan said NTC considered that this shift would be the inevitable outcome and it would be best if AT reached that conclusion quickly.
“It seems inevitable that it will cut through our facilities including retail space and carparks. If it gets developed, they will have to buy that land with buildings which will cost millions,” Mr Allan said.
NTC already has consent for earthworks on the site and intends to build a supermarket next year.
“It needs to be worked out by AT and NZTA, and it would be nice if AT would work it out instead of listing problems. We have ended up with tails wagging dogs because of decisions that were made early on.”
On the final day, there were presentations by White Light Trust and the Warkworth Land Company.
