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The One Mahurangi Business Association is calling on Waka Kotahi/NZ Transport Agency to put up signs on the new motorway, alerting people to the option of turning off at Puhoi to take the scenic route to Warkworth and Mahurangi West.
But the call is falling on deaf ears.
Association manager Murray Chapman says it is a relatively simple fix, and the association has already designed a sign and even offered to put it in place.
“While we are all enjoying the benefits of the new motorway, it does bypass Warkworth and that is not helping our local businesses, especially those in the Grange, at the southern entrance to Warkworth, where they have suffered a 30 to 40 per cent drop in turnover,” Chapman said in an email to NZTA.
However, NZTA replied that state highway road guidance and advisory signs were designed for route continuity and use by long distance travellers, strangers to an area and tourists.
“They are not intended to provide detailed local road use information,” NZTA says.
“This approach helps to reduce the overall number of signs and, therefore, potential distraction and misunderstanding on the road network.
“From a Ara Tūhono – Pūhoi to Warkworth project perspective, the current signage delivered per the signage strategy is sufficient for the area and compliant with existing strategies and guidelines.”
Meanwhile, a new artwork at the southern end of the new motorway, where two concrete plinths now stand, is expected to be installed “in coming months”.
