LETTERS & EMAILS
AUCKLAND TRANSPORT’S CONTRACTS Recently I requested a copy of the scope of work for the Auckland Transport’s contract with the contractor that street sweeps in the Parnell area. I was particularly interested in the requirements for the removal of leaves from gutters and drains during the autumn fall.
THE “SUPERCITY” - A FAILED EXPERIMENT With the creation of the Supercity, the new Auckland Council promised a more cost effective, efficient, environmentally sustainable local government. They promised to consult, listen and to provide open, transparent and accountable governance. Ten years on the city is almost bankrupt.
This information was provided very quickly. What I found was that the contract clearly specifies the requirements, which were clearly not being met. I have two questions; firstly, do Auckland Transport check that the contractor is meeting their obligations? And secondly, if they find that they aren’t, do they deduct an amount from the contractor’s payment? To date I have been unable to get an answer. Keith McConnell, www.keithforwaitemata.com
In my opinion, large multinational conglomerates have infiltrated all of our council controlled organisations. Multi billion dollar budgets are rolled out in a rush, creating inner city congestion, while the new stormwater system progresses at a snail’s pace.
MORE MADNESS IN CURRAN STREET! I recently attended the Waitemata Local Board meeting, hoping to have some questions answered by Pippa Coom regarding the new traffic island due to be built shortly blocking one lane (when a painted “island” would have clearly sufficed) by Auckland Transport on the Northern (bridge) side of the Curran Street, Sarsfield Road intersection. My question would have been based on the premise that when Auckland Transport build this new traffic “street calming“ island on the right side of the Curran Street on-ramp to State Highway One, and the Harbour Bridge, what research has been undertaken, prior to the approval of the proposed design by the Board, to establish what effect this ridiculous new “street calming” measure would have on the banked up traffic which is already moving at crawling speed, in TWO (out of what was previously THREE) lanes; two of which are currently trying to get onto the Harbour Bridge? The existing two lanes will now try to compress back into one lane, AND prevent easy access for traffic turning into that section of Curran Street, from both the western and eastern exits from Sarsfield Street in order to access either Westhaven or the Harbour Bridge. Traffic already banks up to the top of Curran Street and into Jervois Road in both directions when bridge congestion and onramp lights prevent easy access to the bridge at peak times, which now starts about 3.30pm. Auckland Transport are actively making this situation worse for local residents and ratepayers, wasting enormous sums of money and Ms Coom has failed to take any notice of this issues.
The City Rail Link is a thinly disguised mining operation in the middle of the CBD with over 250 million tons of bluestone spirited away. Interestingly the current value for bluestone is $330 per ton (do the math). At the time, no mention was made of the potentially lethal naturally occurring material similar to asbestos in the CRL resource consent process that allowed this mining to proceed! Across Auckland, business associations are left dumb founded by the negative impact caused by Auckland Transport’s obsession with badly designed, poorly built footpaths and cycleways. All cheered on by Councillor Pippa Coom, Chris Darby and Richard Hills. In secret, Panukau, Auckland Council’s property arm, develops additional retail space and apartments on public land from the Harbour Bridge to Britomart, while planning to sell public assets, including parks, reserves, and revenue generating inner city carparks. The deal done with the Tapuna Maunga Authority over felling our city’s mature trees to enhance 5G transmission reeks of an old boys’ backroom deal between Goff, Stiassny and Majurey. As citizens are faced with a substantial rates increase this year, I believe we have no other choice but to demand our legal right to a referendum on the Supercity and to call for a total restructure of our local government. Lisa Prager, Community Advocate, Westmere
By the way, the “street calming” measures in Sarsfield Street/ Curran Street cost (so far) $2,800,000. During these Covid times, I would strongly argue that this work is irrelevant, unnecessary and unacceptably expensive to ratepayers who have now just been hit with a totally unjustified 3.5% average rates increase. Ms Coom did not attend the Waitemata Local Board meeting as she was supposedly “busy on other council business”. My question to Ms Pippa Coom, is: What “council business” could possibly be more important to her and to the local ratepayers, than the Local Board meeting for Waitemata – the very ward that elected her? Roger Hawkins, Ponsonby Opinions expressed in Ponsonby News are not always the opinion of Alchemy Media Limited & Ponsonby News.
8 PONSONBY NEWS+ August 2020
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