In brief

Bus trial back on the cards

communities to finally get this resolved. I would like to thank the efforts of Marja Lubeck and Tania Hamilton in arranging the visit of the Minister of Transport to assess our local roading network. After a tour of the area, he was not impressed with the roads. He experienced first-hand, the potholes, poor road surface, lack of drainage and the reduction in legal width of the roads.

The Katoa, Ka Ora three-year speed management plan aims to meet Waka Kotahi’s requirement for safe and appropriate speeds outside all schools by December 2027. Speeds on many rural roads in Rodney that are currently 100km/h will see reductions to 80, 60, 40 or even 30km/h. The community can have their say through the submissions process which closes on August 28. Further information is available online or at your local library.

Speed reductions aside, Auckland Council is focused on urban areas, while rural road maintenance and drainage get neglected. Rural people are fed up with the lack of service after numerous complaints about roading. Rural communities pay hundreds of thousands of dollars on rates that are intended for our roads, but get reallocated to Auckland urban projects.

When do rural communities get their share?