Urgent Meetings Sought Over Transmission Gully

Porirua City Council is seeking urgent meetings with the Minister of Transport, chair of Transit New Zealand and chair of Land Transport New Zealand over future transport options for the Western Corridor.

“On August 3 the Transit New Zealand board resolved to support the four laning of the coastal route rather than Transmission Gully.

“This decision completely flies in the face of the promise made by Transport Minister Pete Hodgson on July 5 that the final decision would rest with the region. It also undermines the process being followed by the Regional Land Transport Committee, a process all regional representatives have agreed to,” said Porirua City Mayor Jenny Brash.

“In a statement today Transit New Zealand said the Board had only agreed to accept the ‘draft Wellington Western Corridor Plan’ as suitable for formal submissions and hearings.’

“The resolution passed on August 3 however is much more explicit and says the Board ‘accepted the draft corridor plan with its provision for four laning on the coast as suitable for formal submissions.’

“There is a serious discrepancy between what Transit agreed to last week and what it is saying today and we need to clarify this. How can the public of the region have confidence in the integrity of the next round of consultation when Transit appears to have taken a stance behind closed doors?

“There are also other issues of concern.

“Cost estimates seem to change with the weather. Estimates for Transmission Gully seem to vary between $850 million and $1.5 billion, depending on who you talk to or the time of the week. The cost of the coastal route changes similarly.

“This is extremely frustrating and threatens the process. How anyone can make decisions when the goal posts keep changing is beyond me.”

ENDS

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