AT rejects business-group criticism

Auckland Transport has hit back at criticism from the Devonport Business Association that it did not consult properly over town-safety improvements.

The business association (DBA) voted at a special meeting earlier this month to reject the Auckland Transport (AT) Devonport Town Centre Safe Speed plans in their entirety.

“It is unfortunate that some of the DBA membership does not currently support the proposal,” AT’s Chief Executive Officer Dean Kimpton says in a letter to DBA chair Dianne Hale.

“However, we contest that Auckland Transport did not allow members of the DBA to input into the consultation process.

The project team “consulted exhaustively with the DBA” throughout the community work-group process. Kimpton said.

AT set up a project website page, placed advertisements in local newspapers, deliv- international ered 13,000 brochures to households, held drop-in sessions and open days and doorknocked local businesses about the plan.

Substantial changes to the project were made to take in DBA concerns, he said.

“In response to these concerns, considerable work by the project team has resulted in a 50 per cent reduced construction timeframe, revised methodology and a revised scope of work (putting off a raised crossing outside The Patriot) to take into account the most disruptive section of the project for the businesses,” Kimpton said.

Safety statistics show that Victoria Rd had logged 24 crashes, which included two serious and seven minor injuries. All of the injuries were suffered by pedestrians or cyclists.

“Unfortunately, this represents a current situation that puts Devonport in one of the higher-risk town centres nationally,” Kimpton said.

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