Sign In / Register
Minister of Transport Simon Bridges and Auckland Mayor Len Brown signed an agreement on the terms of reference for the Auckland Transport Accord on August 27, signalling the start of a process that could have a major impact on infrastructure provision on the Hibiscus Coast.
The Transport Accord, which the Mayor hopes will provide “a fix” for Auckland’s transport network woes, was the key initiative he highlighted at a public meeting in Orewa on August 18; the majority of the Hibiscus Coast’s transport projects, including the widening of Whangaparaoa Rd and the building of Penlink, will be raised during the talks.
At the Orewa meeting, the Mayor described getting central Government, the NZ Transport Agency, KiwiRail and Auckland Transport to sit down together to work out an agreement as “an historic occasion”.
He is pinning a lot of hope for transport funding on the Accord, which he expects to take 12 months of hard negotiation. Government approval is needed if schemes to fund transport initiatives, such as tolls on existing motorways or fuel taxes, are to be introduced in addition to the transport levy that all ratepayers are paying.
However, at the Orewa meeting Hibiscus & Bays Local Board chair Julia Parfitt drew the biggest applause of the night when she said that much can still be done with the money that is already available.
“What’s important is that Auckland Transport and Council make best use of the money that is already there,” Mrs Parfitt said.
She said the local board will leverage Council’s growth capacity fund for local projects, which she said is only fair because this area is experiencing huge growth and is on the back foot when it comes to infrastructure.
The Orewa meeting was attended by around 55 residents as well as Crs Wayne Walker and John Watson, Julia Parfitt, Local Board deputy chair Greg Sayers and member Lovisa Rasmussen.
Mr Brown praised the Gulf Harbour ferry service, which he used to get to the Coast, although his own trip was in windy conditions and, he admitted, “quite rough”.
He said that larger ferries are on the horizon, with Fullers/360 looking at options to manage the massive growth in patronage. “They will focus on this as the ferry contracts become contestable again over the next year,” he said.
Mr Brown also responded to questions on transport for more than an hour.
Several residents said they were sick of paying rates for little return, with all the work going on south of the Harbour Bridge. Mr Brown said that hard decisions had to be made around priorities because funding was limited.
However, he said the Transport Accord could result in projects that include Penlink ($384 million), the Curley Ave extension into Silverdale Village ($25 million) and the widening of Whangaparaoa Rd ($20 million) being brought forward to “very high priority”.
