KEY POINTS:
Newmarket businesspeople are delighted Transit New Zealand has given way to a long and hard campaign for a motorway sign to point southbound traffic their way.
The agency yesterday disclosed that it had put up a Newmarket destination sign beside the Southern Motorway "for southbound visitors wanting to access Auckland's premier shopping district".
The Newmarket Business Association has campaigned for such a concession for two years, and redoubled efforts in October after Transit installed signs pointing to rival shopping centre Sylvia Park.
Transit said then that the motorway between Khyber Pass Rd and Gillies Ave, which carries more than 200,000 vehicles a day, had reached "sign saturation point" and any more were likely to distract and endanger motorists.
But regional manager Peter Spies said yesterday it had happily managed to find a suitable position for a sign to Newmarket, which he accepted was a significant destination in its own right.
Business association general manager Cameron Brewer said it was "a great day for Newmarket" and his organisation was happy to contribute a quarter of the sign's $20,000 cost.
