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Sign of the times

We’ve heard of endangered wood pigeons, but Leigh has gone one better with an endangered wood seagull. The colourful ‘welcome’ sign on Leigh Road, near Frost Road, is normally adorned with two seagulls, but one has flown (or more, accurately, been forcibly removed from) the coop. Residents are understandably keen to see its return, particularly as they say it was the work of “local legend Neil the Wood Butcher”.

Does Auckland’s most liveable city have the worst roads in NZ?

In the whole of Auckland, there are few residents who ask for less for their rate dollar than the people who live on unsealed roads. They don’t want bike lanes and fancy artwork, they look after their own water and wastewater needs, and they have limited use for sport and recreational centres and reserves. The one task they do rely entirely on Council for, however, is the maintenance of their roads. So why do they continue to get such a raw deal?

There are an estimated 800 kilometres of gravel roads in Auckland, 80 per cent them in Rodney. In terms of capital investment, Auckland Transport takes the lion’s share of Auckland Council’s budget. In the 2022/23 year, it expects to spend $994 million on transport related projects, which does not include the city rail link. It has set aside $444 million for public transport and $64 million for urban cycleways. Roads and footpaths will get $160 million, of which unsealed road improvements will receive just $6 million. Road sealing costs around $500,000 per kilometre, so even if AT spent $6 million every year for the next 50 years, it still wouldn’t finish the job. But, unfortunately, the news gets worse. For the last six years of the current 10-year plan, the budget for unsealed roads is halved to $3 million. A pittance!

In our story on Page 3, MP Chris Penk says the time for excuses is over. We agree. Someone at the top needs to be driven over the roads they expect us to use every day. The discussion about culverts, water tables and drainage needs to go beyond a customer service response and meaningless tracking numbers. It is hard not to use the word ‘incompetence’ when looking at how the gravel roads are being maintained. Road cones sit beside dangerous slips and gaping pot holes for weeks, and sometimes months, before any attempt is made to repair them. And then, the repairs often last only until the next weather event. Mayor Wayne Brown is in town this week and we feel sure roading will be one of the main issues on the table for discussion with community representatives. At one of the last Governing Body meetings last year, Brown told AT he wants a fundamental change of approach. He wants the organisation to “deeply understand and respond to what matters most to Aucklanders in transport”. Specifically, he called on AT to ensure that the road maintenance and renewal programme is adequate and supports the whole region, including rural roads. This includes improvements to the rural road maintenance and sealing programmes, and targets to ensure prompt completion of simple road repairs. This sounds like a good starting point; so watch this space.