Ask Phoebe: Flight path draft report in May

Forty per cent of fans going to Blues games at Eden Park use public transport. Photo / Richard Robinson

Opportunity for public to comment before the final version is published towards end of year.

After the furore over the change in aircraft flight paths over Auckland, I still have not seen any result of what was called "the trial". Will the results of the trial be published? Will we ever know? -Richard Simpson, Auckland

Yes, we will. The draft report of the Northern Smart Approaches Flight Track trial was to have been released in late March. However, additional time is required for analysis of the aviation data and community feedback. In other words, the draft report isn't finished yet.

It is now proposed to release the draft report by the end of May, and the final report issued towards the end of this year. There will be an opportunity to comment on the draft report before the final report is published.

The trial itself ended on October 31 last year.

The trial organisers were Auckland Airport, Airways NZ and the Board of Airline Representatives of New Zealand. The point of the 12-month trial was to improve flight path and aircraft efficiency and reduce the impact of aircraft noise on the community.

For further information visit www.aucklandflightpathtrial.co.nz

What is happening with the demolished restaurant at Long Bay? I understand human remains were discovered during demolition and work stopped. This was back in June last year and it still remains a half-demolished eyesore. -Carol Daley, North Shore

Work is shortly due to resume on Long Bay Restaurant. Ancient bones, including a skull, teeth, a shoulder blade and toe bones, were found last July during renovations to the building.

They are believed to be koiwi, or pre-European remains of a child aged about 6. The child's cause of death is unconfirmed but studies into the remains suggest the child experienced blunt force trauma to the head.

An archaeological assessment has been completed, including the significance of the find from a Maori cultural perspective.

We went to the rugby at Eden Park a week or so ago and marvelled again at the numbers of spectators who rolled in by bus and train. Many would have used their match ticket to get free travel, and I wondered - who pays for this? Is it included in the ticket price (in which case we who walk subsidise those who don't) or is it an Auckland Transport initiative? Or does Eden Park cover the cost? -Bill Davidson, Kingsland

Auckland Transport works with a number of organisations to include travel by public transport as part of the ticket price for various events. Where this happens the organisation makes a contribution towards the cost of public transport. AT says this system is working very well and at the recent Auckland Nines, 55 per cent of people attending the event used public transport. For the Blues matches at Eden Park the rate is about 40 per cent.

• After the column on untreated sewage discharge from boats in Auckland, I can advise that holding-tank pump-out facilities exist at the following marinas: Gulf Harbour, Orakei, Bayswater, the Outboard Boating Club, Viaduct Harbour, Westhaven and Half Moon Bay, as well as points in other towns and cities. If I've missed some, please let me know.