My Account
Auckland Transport (AT) chiefs have agreed to visit Warkworth to explain to local businesses, Board members and lobby groups the reasoning behind their decision to reduce the Matakana link road from four lanes to two.
Councillor Greg Sayers met with AT executive officer Shane Ellison last month in a bid to find out why the original $85 million funding for the link road was suddenly cut by $27 million and the project scaled down.
Speaking at a recent Matakana Community Group meeting, Cr Sayers said he still hadn’t received a straight answer justifying why that had happened and he stressed to Mr Ellison that it was vital he and other officers came to the region to discuss the issue with the local community and stakeholders.
“I asked him for the data behind this decision and to come up and take questions,” Cr Sayers said.
“He’s said he’s prepared to front and share that information.
“The crux of the matter is that nobody, including myself and Local Board members are convinced that this is a wise decision, and I’d be very surprised if any new data would convince us, but I said we’ll come with an open mind.”
One Warkworth Business Association has also been lobbying AT for an explanation due to serious misgivings over the link road, and it was due to hold its own special meeting to discuss the matter with interested parties as Mahurangi Matters went to press.
