Ratepayers in Rodney District are charged a levy of $89.34 a year, allegedly to support the transfer stations in our area whether we use them or not. If we do use them we get charged another $40 per load!
Ratepayers in the old Auckland area get a free inorganic waste collection every year. I thought one of the theories of the new council was to be equitable?
Rod Lyons, Muriwai.
Auckland Council advises that the waste levy for Rodney residents supports the local transfer station. It also provides for removal of litter, removal of dumped rubbish, recycling collection, waste education such as WasteWise schools and the Create Your Own Eden campaign, and litter bin emptying.
Residents in other legacy areas pay a different waste levy, which may include a charge for an inorganic collection. As signalled in the Waste Minimisation and Management Plan, council will be introducing a rates- funded inorganic collection for residents living in the former Rodney District area shortly.
The Glenfield Rd upgrade has been going on in stages for many years now. Fulton Hogan say they were given two years under the contract by North Shore City Council to complete the current stage of work and are only up to 14 months.
They are progressing with work on footpaths and crossings on the northeastern side at snail's pace and have diverted resources to new jobs before finishing this one, because time is on their side.
Traffic has been backing up along Albany Highway to Schnapper Rock Rd for months, creating 30 minutes' additional travel time from Albany in the mornings and also way down the Western Motorway to Greenhithe, creating at times a 50 minute delay in driving from West Auckland.
These delays for commuters are unacceptable, and create a cost for employers whose staff are often late for work.
For the past month work on the footpaths and crossings has been negligible. There is room to open a second downhill lane through the work zone if they moved the message display trailer, even if only for rush hours. (Abridged).
Andrew Stirling, North Shore.
Auckland Transport and its contractor are working hard to complete the project early. They are working through the safety issues to open an additional southern lane for the morning peak hour traffic, and this should be in operation next week.
