Media press release from Ken Crispin. Secretary. Citizens Environmental Advocacy Centre in Napier.

Dear; Hon’ Phil Twyford. Minister of Transport.

This publicly released letter is a response to your media release on Friday 31th August stating that you have allocated $324 Million dollars for roading upgrades to make HB roads safer.

Our response to this is to remind the Minister of Transport Phil Twyford, after his press release to spend big only on ‘regional roading’ to benefit the road freight industry, we are astonished that you failed to not include any transport funding for HB regional rail passenger and freight services.

Is this another broken promise here again;- as no rail funding is in his ‘transport’ plans.?

Minister our role at (CEAC) and NHTCF is to facilitate as NGO’s to advocate to protecting our public environment & health In association with other Community Groups, NHTCF and all Government Agencies since 2001 to promotem the Health and wellbeing of all citizens of HB, and if rail is not being planned by you as Minister of Transport then we are at odds with your policy of a ‘road freight only plan, as we advocate for all modes of transport to be included in the transport planning going forward Minister.

Our Resolution is;

HB community groups request to Phil Twyford as Minister of transport to attend this invitation to HBRC Land Transport Meeting next Friday 7th September at 159 Dalton Street 10am at the Conference room, to hear community groups request transport funding for residential mitigation including noise walls and low noise surfacing to reduce truck traffic noise vibration and air pollution health effects as Freight trucks pass through residential noise sensitive zones to the Port of Napier along the roading network in line with Parliamentary Commissioner For The Environment; (PCE) recommendations. (see attached below)

https://www.pce.parliament.nz/media/pdfs/Hawkes-Bay-Expressway-Noise-and-air-quality-issues-June-2005.pdf

Our community call is to HBRC Land Transport Committee NCC and Phil Twyford as Minister of Transport to provide the funding for all mitigation for all residential impacts from truck route noise, vibration & air pollution mitigation throughout the road network system to the Port of Napier is secured and given respect and adequate funding from the recent Labour Government Minister of Transport Phil Twyford press release sent today as his road funding package of $324 million for HB roading (see below) to offer the HB residents living alongside the truck routes he is servicing provides the funding for in his forecast $192 million for ‘Forecast Maintenance And Operations’ and from the $116 million for “Regional Network Improvements” is to apply some of that funding for those mitigations long requested under years of truck noise vibration and air pollution health impacts to the lives of all residents who still need to make their lives safe and secure with health and wellbeing’ as their human rights are given them by the Government.

We are disapointed in this Minister not funding any regional rail services we urgently need to reduce road only freight truck activities and to save our environment and make the roads less cluttered with monster trucks.

We now request that you make funds available to add rail passenger and freight into the plan you have hastily produced without consultation with the whole community firstly.

We request your attendance to this venue below on 7th September in Napier.

Our Groups will be submitting to the HBRC Land transport committee this request next Friday at 10.20 am at the HBRC Chambers, and you are invited by our community to attend.

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