Snells Beach debate

The tone for the Snells Beach election debate was set before people were even in the building, with members of the Fix Hill Street Now group handing out fliers at the entrance.

The event attracted about 200 people, with all four Rodney Ward candidates and six Rodney Local Board candidates taking the floor.

Hill Street was the main topic of the evening and highlighted the candidates different approaches.

Penny Webster advocated for a steady-as-she-goes strategy and defended the long wait for a redesign of the Hill Street intersection, saying any work would take a long time and cause major disruption.

“It’s not going to be an easy fix,” Cr Webster said.

Greg Sayers brought new thinking to the issue, suggesting funding from development contributions and the interim transport levy be set aside for work at Hill Street, but questions remained on whether the approach was politically possible.

Holly Southernwood said the intersection was the biggest issue in Rodney and supported reducing traffic on Elizabeth Street.

Steven Garner said it was up to NZTA and Auckland Transport to get the work done.

Public transport was another area where candidates showed a different stance.

Cr Webster said if AT introduced a bus service to the Silverdale park-and-ride it would be empty most of the time and that private buses were offering a much better service.

“It’s not costing the ratepayers anything,” she said .

She said bus services to Auckland should be unsubsidised until the new motorway is built.

Mr Garner and Mr Sayers both said Auckland Transport needed to be lobbied to loosen the purse strings and spend more on public transport in Rodney, while Ms Southernwood admitted not being very informed on the issue in Mahurangi.