24 November 2004

North Shore Residents Should Breathe Collective Sigh Of Relief At V8 Decision

The decision not to grant resource consent to the staging of a V8 street race in downtown Auckland City will be greeted with mixed feelings by thousands of North Shore residents – indeed residents throughout the region.

While many will be disappointed at not having this great spectacle on ‘our doorstep’ – thousands of daily commuters to the central city and beyond will be hugely relieved that the forecast gridlock will not now eventuate, at least not from this race proposal.

The commissioners conclusion is telling - “The proposal as it stands has the possibility to strain the goodwill of the citizens of the region to a degree never tested before.

“It needs to be said that this disruption will not only be during the days of the races but to a lesser, but still significant, degree in the weeks of the set up before the race and those following the race when the dismantling process takes place”.

But that need not be the end of the race somewhere in the Auckland region.

Why not seriously investigate the option of staging the race at Whenuapai Airbase? Or is Auckland just going to sit back and let Wellington pluck the race from under our noses?

This is clearly a time when the councils of the region – including Auckland City - should work together and, even at this – almost - eleventh hour, try to retain this great event for out region

ENDS

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