Viewpoint – In defense of the roundabout

The continual improvement of the facilities and amenity of the Rodney Local Board area is, or should be, the focus of your Local Board and Councillor. It is disappointing when any activity of Auckland Council or its CCO’s are questioned and challenged by elected representatives when a process of consultation, design and review has been completed. Yes, sometimes there are challenges that are not always foreseen or identified, but I consider my role is one of advocacy and mediation, not challenge and confrontation. The new roundabout on Baxter Street is a great case in point. The original investigation rightly identified that pedestrian safety in this space was not good and that vehicle egress into the intersection was challenging for many. The design and consultation was well considered and carried out, but because of the ‘concerns’ expressed, first the number of new parks was reduced, a planned pedestrian crossing was put on ‘hold’ and then the whole design was attacked because the very biggest vehicles that are allowed on any of our roads will have difficulty traversing what is the centre of our little town. The ensuing furor has been easy and cheap fodder for the local paper and little else.

Likewise, the agitation and angst over the alignment of Rodney community halls with the rest of Council. Relatively few people are negatively impacted and we have options to mitigate these where there is an identified community benefit and opportunity to change the structure for smaller, less public spaces like the Shoesmith Hall. As I have suggested earlier, it is looking very likely that a community group will establish an appropriate structure and assume responsibility for this hall (see story p10). As I have said before, I believe that this will be a completely appropriate outcome and the community and the users of this hall will be better for it.

The weather events of the last few weeks have left several areas of our roads vulnerable and I have asked Auckland Transport for a report specifically on Matakana Road as a result. The flooding in this area was as bad as I have seen in over 40 years of living in the area. The road itself still looks ok, but the shoulders and armouring have taken a pounding. The result is likely that the road will deteriorate faster if not addressed, and this and Sandspit Road are our key local transport routes. I have also asked what is happening on Baxter Street and on the roads in Warkworth township itself, as the roads in this area are failing – in particular the approaches to the speed tables. Pot-holes and slumping on the main streets is just not acceptable.