Letters: There's a simple solution to our traffic woes

The solution to our traffic woes is right under our noses, writes a reader. Photo/File

Future transportation directions
It is apparent the current thinking is that building bigger roads with more lanes will solve traffic problems.

Of course, that will not, as has been proven all over the world. Then there is a fixation that electric vehicles will offer a magical traffic cure and of course they will not either.

The solution is right under our noses .. simple… double track the railway (an underutilised corridor) between Katikati, Tauranga, Mt Maunganui, Papamoa, Te Puke and Paengaroa and reintroduce regular rail cars services particularly in peak times.

Commuters could access their nearest satellite rail stations planned at their localities and would not have to bother with the traffic hassles or excessive driving. Of course, roads will always be important, but a change in our transportation model is long overdue.

The disgraceful fiasco of private equity companies greedily value stripping New Zealand's rail assets should not be repeated. It may be that ordinary folk people have to pursue the rail proposal for the public good and the obvious environmental benefits.

A visionary is needed, forget short-term motorway ridiculousness. Politicians have proven incapable or just stuck in their jet-set ramble. We need to set the direction for a futuristic long-term solution.

Jos Nagels
Brookfield

Special housing area
The Government says that there is a shortage of affordable houses, especially for first-home buyers. So, we now have the Special Housing area in Emerald Shores. Does this solve our housing shortage problem? I certainly cannot see it doing addressing the problem.

Firstly, it is aimed at those aged 55-plus, which may automatically exclude young families wishing to get a start in life. Secondly, the Special Housing appears to be cheap enough on the surface at about $300,000 or under for the leased house. Normal housing having a median price of $520,000.

But, look a bit deeper, a 20 per cent bank deposit on a $520,000 house amounts to $104,000. Banks tend not lend on a house purchase without a land component, which the Special Housing arrangement does not include.

At the end of the day, which house is the cheaper option - the $300,000 house that you have to buy, cash, outright, or the $520,000 house that you can buy with a $104,000 deposit?

Why is Bluehaven pushing for this? (Abridged)
Chris Pattison
Papamoa