Auckland's Eastern motorway: Readers respond

A selection of readers' reactions to the Eastern Transport Corridor plan.

It seems to me that Mr Banks is offering a short-term quick-fix solution. Ten years to build, then perhaps another 10 years before the eastern transport option becomes as congested as the rest of Auckland is - and quite possibly before parts of it start to become submerged by rising sea levels.

As I see it, the solution to Auckland's transport woes lies not in the building of more roads for more cars, but the implementation of a reliable, efficient, and cost-effective public transport system.

In a world where there is now strong evidence supporting the theory of greenhouse gas emissions leading to global warming and rising sea levels, any such expansive public works initiated now would be likely to have a limited lifespan in low-lying costal areas - perhaps 20 to 50 years depending on how quickly the world is warming.

Has Mr Banks also allowed for the construction of dykes and other protective measures against rising sea levels in the future in his great roading project? - Curt Kurschus.

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When are these people going to realise that building more roads will only encourage people to drive their cars?

The only reason - and it's not a very good one - why the Eastern Corridor should be built is because the land was set aside many years ago. However, this most certainly does not apply to the residents of Ti Rakau Drive, who will lose the homes and/or their current living standards.

The corridor will be an environmental disaster and an eyesore for the residents of the eastern suburbs.

The rest of the country shouldn't have to pay for Auckland's traffic problems, and Auckland City ratepayers shouldn't have to pay for Manukau City's traffic problems.

The only reason we have congestion in Kohimarama is because of Manukau City commuters who should be on the bus. If we must have the corridor, then Manukau City ratepayers should foot the entire bill. - Rodney Janes

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Kohimarama It's long overdue, bring it on!

The anti-eastern highway brigade are the heirs of those Aucklanders who fought the building of the Harbour Bridge (that project took 40 years to achieve and was too small by the time it was finished) and the construction of Tamaki Drive.

And where would Auckland be without the Harbour Bridge and Tamaki Drive? - D. Haworth

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St Heliers I believe that the proposed eastern expressway is a poor use of resources which does not address key areas of traffic congestion within Auckland.

Obviously the biggest problem facing us is the link between Auckland City and the North Shore.

The proposed eastern loop does not even attempt to address this issue. Many believe that the solution to this is another harbour crossing.

The present harbour bridge, which is effectively capable of delivering five lanes each way at peak times, is adequate for the time being and, although many hundreds of cars may be seen sitting stationary on the bridge at rush hour, is not the actual cause of the problem, but rather the place at which the problem is most visible.

The first and most obvious place to attack this problem is the Victoria Park flyover. It is blindingly obvious that two lanes each way at this point is totally inadequate (pathetic, actually). A possible solution would be to double-deck a section of motorway from the bridge through to about Greenlane for vehicles which don't need to get on or off the motorway in this section.

Christine Fletcher got her Britomart and John Banks would like his eastern expressway. Unfortunately, neither of these projects attack the problems we face effectively but they do make great monuments to anyone's term as mayor. - John Christiansen

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Mt Albert I think the proposed $3- 4 billion project is the worst possible use of taxpayers' money. If half that money was used to get the Auckland public transport system up and running there would be no congestion whatsoever on the existing roads.

No part of the proposed motorway is more than 5km off the Southern motorway.

Available traffic research clearly demonstrates what 10-20 per cent reduction in traffic does to congestion; just have a look at what it's like during the school holidays.

So let's use that huge pile of money to upgrade the rail network. - Bjorn Pilstrom, Devonport (working in Epsom)

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At last! Something is being done. Let's get going as fast as possible. What bothers me is that Stem [Stop the Eastern Motorway] has vowed to be as disruptive as possible of the process just because of their N-I-M-B-Y attitude.

Another bother. Very few people who state their view that more people should travel by public transport consider that much of the traffic on the highway will be trucks going between East Tamaki and the port. Today those truckies have no alternative but the suburban streets. - Christine Knight, St Heliers

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I have just read the article on the front page of [yesterday's] paper and am wondering, what exactly does John Banks think he is going to achieve by doing this? From where I am standing I can see this, and it doesn't take a brain surgeon to figure this one out - this new corridor is not only going to increase but also encourage more cars on the road for an already disgustingly polluted Auckland and cost a load of money to do. Why is this money not being invested in our public transport system? Perhaps John Banks needs to spend a week travelling on the bus and then see if he thinks it doesn't need further improvement. John Banks needs to start living in the real world and think about the impact (if the Eastern Corridor goes ahead) not only on the bank balance, but people's lives. Houses are going to be bulldozed down or constantly maimed with the sound of traffic. John Banks is just going to be sitting there on his little Mayor's throne with not a care in the world except for where he's going to stupidly spend the next $2.8 billion (half of which is the taxpayers' money anyway!).

Time to look at moving to another city! - A Fuiono, Glenfield

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May heaven preserve Auckland from urban motorway planners. Not only do we have the suburb-wrecking SH20 extension on the books, but now another monster is being proposed to spoil another part of Auckland.

The planners freely talk about financial compensation for the owners of properties in the path, as if that is all that affects the community, without a mention of the permanent degradation of the local communities in all sorts of ways. What compensation is there for residents who will be alongside this motorway? There is in fact no compensation for a motorway on your boundary, or cutting through your suburb.

We all need to think about alternatives - working and shopping locally; pressing for better public transport, and using it; moving freight back to a revamped railway system, with local depots.Anyone with any concern for our environment, both locally and globally, will not be proposing new motorways. These will only encourage even more vehicles on to our presently clogged roads. - Colin Maddock, Avondale

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I am totally appalled at the short-term thinking and big-time spending being endorsed by Banks and transport planners over Auckland traffic congestion.

Other countries have seen the light and moved away from building more motorways, but not little old NZ.

We are moving towards becoming a Third World country more and more every day.

Other countries value and preserve their cities' green spaces - in NZ cities we do everything we can to destroy them. Farewell Oakley Creek and Purewa Creek, sacrificed to Banks' motorway madness. - H. Dare, New Lynn

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If this expensive exercise in short-sighted planning goes ahead, will it become known as Banksie's Balls-Up?

I have heard many comments this morning on radio that you will not get people out of their cars. This is a very lame excuse.

I live in Meadowbank. At the end of our street is the Meadowbank railway station. (The fact that Meadowbank has a station will come as a surprise to many and just shows how well the rail network is promoted.) Prior to the opening of Britomart there would be two or three cars parked at the station by people catching the train into the old railway station. With the opening of Britomart we now have on average 20 cars parked by the station and a considerable number of people who walk or are dropped off each morning.

I am not a tree-hugging greenie. I am in business and realise the importance of a good transport system to a city, but in business you try and make decisions that have long term-benefits. The eastern highway is not one of those decisions.

I went down to the Purewa stream this morning and looked at the green reserve and the water and thought how criminal to build a road through there.

Why don't we learn from overseas that more roads do not work? Use a third of the money to build a modern railway system and develop efficient ferry systems on the harbour. - John Boyd, Meadowbank

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Nuts!

A major new motorway will only encourage greater car dependence and massively increase congestion at the very time when we need to start weaning Aucklanders off private car use.

It would be far, far cheaper and more sustainable to upgrade the existing rail line (including a third track dedicated to freight trains). A branch line from Panmure or Mt Wellington could then link to Pakuranga and Botany Downs and eventually loop through East Tamaki to rejoin the main track at Wiri. - Graeme Easte, Mount Albert

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Why do our governing bodies keep having to use "good old Kiwi ingenuity", inventing complex and automobile-orientated solutions? We are a very young city, one built without much fore-thought as to town planning, and we must now pay the consequences.

Why don't we just copy other cities? We don't haveto go far - just look at Sydney and its rail system. Let's swallow our pride and just do what other cities have done, before it's too late. Public transport is the our only future. Why not increase our rail network, include the North Shore and the west with the east and south? Corporate [types] will not ride buses, but trains may make their way into our pretentious Jafa lives. - Graeme Gunthorp, Albany